Today is Columbus Day — which, to me, is the day those of us in the US celebrate Myth and Storytelling. After all, the account of Columbus given to me in my 8th grade history book was far from a complete and accurate description of the Italian man who lived in 1492.
If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, you can find plenty of sites on the internet that offer a wide variety of descriptions and analyses of Columbus. To some he was a Visionary; to others, the Devil Incarnate. Take a look at all the data, and then you tell me–which of those stories is most true?
I would say none of them. Or maybe all of them. I don’t know. I wasn’t there and even if I was there, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have had any idea what was going on because I rarely have any idea what’s going on. But that’s probably just me, and I’ve noticed a lot of people aren’t me. You, for example, aren’t me. And everyone else. But I digress . . .
Anyway, I’ve also noticed that some people get really up-tight about asserting THEIR particular version of a story, as if the slightest hint of disagreement is a lethal threat to their own existence. Maybe that’s where the idea for “Columbus Day” came from in the first place–as a way to give one particular version of a story the authority of law. But aren’t laws just stories told in Legalese instead of plain English?
Again, I don’t know. What I do know is that facts have a weird way of changing over time and our perception of them changes constantly as well. I definitely don’t look at Columbus today the same way I did when I was in 8th grade. So rather than latching onto any one version of what happened in 1492 and fighting for that version until I’m dead, I prefer to look at our infinite renditions of any story as an example of the awesome creative powers of the human species.
But that’s just my story. What’s yours?
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