Celebrating Christopher Columbus

Dear editor:

Went to the post office this morning to mail a couple of packages and was surprised, lo and behold, it was closed for the Columbus Day Holiday. The state and local governments are open, the schools are open, the banks are open and all of the businesses in town are open. But the Post Office is closed with a paid holiday for its workers. You surely know the Post Office. That’s the place that is running up huge billion dollar deficits, much not of its own doing due to other methods of mail, that gives hundreds of millions of dollars of free mail to the U.S. Government and Congressmen and Senators that claim to be using it to keep in touch with their constituents when in reality they are running for office and keeping their name out there free of charge.

Yes, they are closed to commemorate Christopher Columbus’ voyage of discovery of the New World. Of course that sailor’s real desire was for reward, wealth, station and power. And what did he bring to the natives living there? Disease, subservience, and death. And so we celebrate.

Funny, but the Native Americans (North and South,) and Eskimos didn’t know they needed discovering. They were already here. And history tells us that the Vikings had “discovered” North America a long time before Columbus. And so we celebrate.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll go there and they will be open to receive my small packages.