Why celebrate Columbus Day? Here are a few reasons

But it’s not recognized in Los Angeles, where I live. The
City Council recently voted to get rid of Columbus Day and replace it with
Indigenous Peoples’ Day, commemorating “indigenous, aboriginal and native
people.”

This movement sees Columbus as a symbol of destruction, and
thus not to be celebrated.

This new Day was first adopted in Berkeley, California in
1992. Since then, it’s spread across the nation with increasing speed, as more
than 60 cities from Maine to Washington have supported the idea.

While there is plenty to criticize about Columbus, and what
followed his arrival, I think this movement is missing the point.

It is true that the conquest of the Americas by Europeans,
which starts with Columbus, was very ugly, and involved a lot of violence. But
that, for better or worse, is how history worked pretty much everywhere for
thousands of years. (Though it should be noted a large portion of the deaths of
Native Americans was due to disease, not violence--an inevitable consequence of
Old World illness in New World soil. Europe, Asia and Africa, of course,
suffered through numerous plagues of their own.).

History, in fact, is the story of conquest. We may not like
it, but it’s our shared heritage. Not just Europeans, but everyone. While there
is only limited knowledge of what pre-Columbus America was like, it did feature
war, slavery, torture and plenty of brutality.

The point is not to excuse the worst that happened, but to
understand it. And to see that it is not the essence of Columbus, but rather
part of the times. With all that, there are reasons to celebrate Columbus Day.

--celebrate Italians (though there is some question as to
whether Columbus would have considered himself an Italian -- he was long
thought to have been born in Genoa, then an independent city-state in what is
now Italy, though everyone from Greece to Portugal to Poland have claimed him
as their own). Nevertheless, Italians claim him today and Columbus Day is a
good chance to recognize what Italians have contributed to America, and the
world.

--celebrate the spirit of exploration. It took tremendous
bravery to sail off into the unknown. One of the best parts of our humanity is
that sense of discovery.

--celebrate the spread of Western civilization. Lately a lot
of people have been putting down Western civilization, but its spread is one of
the greatest things that’s ever happened to humanity.

The West has its good and bad points, but its best
ideas—equal rights, freedom of religion, free speech, due process, open
scientific inquiry, property rights and so on—have helped all people who adopt
them. (Not that the West solely had these ideas, but it put them in a package
that wasn’t generally available elsewhere.)

Indeed, the promise of the West has delivered freedom and
bounty such as humanity has never known.

And, while we celebrate Columbus Day, we can learn from
history and also take time to honor Native Americans. They were the original
immigrants to the New World, and deserve their remembrance.

Once we do this, Columbus Day can be a truly inclusive
holiday. It needn’t be a battleground, but a chance to celebrate the best
within us.

Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys LIVE SCORE UPDATES
and STATE (10/8/17) | NFL Week 5

By Keith Sargeant

ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com,

NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The Green Bay Packers (3-1) led by quarterback Aaron
Rodgers, meet the Dallas Cowboys (2-2), led by quarterback Dak Prescott and
running back Ezekiel Elliott, in an NFC matchup in NFL Week 5 action on Sunday,
October 8, 2017 (10/8/17) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

We'll have up-to-the-minute scoring and stats here
throughout the game. Check the scoreboard above and click on the stats link.

App users: For the best mobile experience, use the mobile
web version.

Here's what you need to know:

Who: Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys

Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

When: Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017

Time: 4:25 p.m. Eastern

TV: Fox

Livestream: Fox Sports Go

Line: Cowboys -2