It is controversial to celebrate it. That development is condemned as imperialism and oppression. Now America has indeed welcomed people from all parts of the world, and has a tradition of tolerating great differences among its citizens. Corn seeds, if they are healthy, give rise to healthy corn. The good farmer cultivates the seeds and the young plants so that they can realize their nature.
Human education has the same object.
Just as in corn, so in humans, there is a natural state, the achievement of which constitutes health. This natural state is not finally different for Europeans than for Asians, or Africans, or South Americans. When Christopher Columbus arrived here, he did not bring with him a copy of the Declaration of Independence, nor did he fully proclaim its ideas in his words and actions. To the extent he fell short of that standard, he fell short of what is right and best. The idea of one God, of one morality, of one rational standard of right for all human beings is at the root of western civilization.