Celebrate Columbus

Let it be known that very few credible sources attribute trade winds to Columbus. And it is certainly not a well-known fact in the public eye. There were many more well-known discoveries, such as Newton's discovery of gravity and Franklin's discovery of electricity. However, we do not celebrate Isaac Newton Day or Ben Franklin day. Columbus' discovery of trade winds, something which few people know of and which is quesionable (due to the support of such few sources), should hence not be a holiday. 2) The opponent has dropped his claim "Columbus launched the Age of Discovery. " This statement was a fabrication that was not upheld by his given source, so I thank my opponent for dropping it. Whether or not Columbus "made the largest contribution to the movement" is a completely subjective matter. I could just as well say that Bartolomew Dias' discovery of an Indian sea trade route was the most important contribution to the movement. The opponent's opinion is not a criterion for whether or not a holiday should exist. The same goes for the statement "He contributed the largest discovery of the time. .. " These are strictly the opponent's opinions. i. The opponent believes the Columbian exchange should be celebrated, despite the large number of Native American deaths it caused, because "[i]t was one of the most important events in the history of the modern world. " The Holocaust and 9/11 were "important" and "monumental" events, but we do not celebrate them as a holiday. Celebrating the period in history that led to the loss of countless lives would be immoral and offensive. In fact, South Dakota changed Columbus Day to Native American Day [1], in order to placate tensions arising from the unforgiving Native Americans. ii. Some of the opposition against Columbus Day actually stems from Columbus' personality, which the opponent depicts as admirable. The Columbus wrote in his logbook (about the American Indians): "They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. .. . They would make fine servants. .. . With 50 men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want. " [2] (He was ready to take advantage of the Native Americans and exploit them for his own benefit. ) Columbus was, according to documents, far too "ambitious," ready to do terribly immoral things just to reach his goals:"While giving the brilliant mariner his due, the collection portrays Columbus as an unrelenting social climber and self-promoter who stopped at nothing— not even exploitation, slavery, or twisting Biblical scripture— to advance his ambitions…," states a pundit researching documents from Columbus' era. [2] ---An Overview: 1. Columbus' discovery of trade winds is questionable and relatively insignificant when compared to other major discoveries in history (a vast majority of which do not have holidays. )2. The opponent's attempts to state that Columbus' voyages were the highlight of the Age of Discovery. This is completely a matter of opinion. i. The opponent states that Columbus Day should be celebrated because of the importance of the Columbian Exchange. The genocide of Native Americans (which happened as a direct result of the Exchange), however, is certainly not a matter that should be celebrated as a U. S. holiday, just as Germany does not have a holiday for the Holocaust. ii. The opponent's perceptions of Columbus' personality mostly consist of speculation. According to document, Columbus was ruthless, willing to enslave Native Americans and exploit others for the purpose of reaching his goals. ---Conclusion: Therefore, Columbus Day should not be a holiday. The opponent's reasoning for why it should be a holiday has been effectively countered, and his arguments are null. ---As an aside, I would like to note my opponent's use of blatantly fabricated statements (e. g. , "Columbus launched the Age of Discovery") in his argument that were not supported by his sources. Thank you. ---[1] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[2] . http://en.wikipedia.org...