Happy Columbus Day

Today marks the 514th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World. It's fashionable these days to be down on Columbus and other Western explorers and colonists, but those who wallow in the mire of such political correctness always seem more than happy to reap (or sometimes, to plunder) the benefits of what those brave men of the West accomplished. Columbus and those who followed in his wake brought the gifts of Western civilization and Christianity to formerly savage and heathen lands. Their courage, perseverance, and hopeful spirit set in place the cultural forces that would bring ever-increasing freedom and prosperity to the lands they discovered. For that, we Americans owe them a debt of gratitude.