Why is Christopher Columbus, a man born in 1451, whose life is memorialized throughout the country, a focus of collective discontent? Why are politicians, political activists and academia in New London and other progressive cities across the United States blaming him for the actions of people who lived years after his death? Why is Columbus accused of spreading diseases, committing genocide and inventing slavery?
Ask any anti-Columbus activists how they ‘feel’ about President Trump and you’ll find they share the same collective mindset as those throughout the ‘RESIST’ movement; a conglomeration of community organizers, non-profit organizations and foundations for change. They share common goals like squelching conservative speech on college campuses and passing laws to make ‘intimidation’ a punishable offense. They personify the country’s ‘Cultural Marxist’ movement and New London is a microcosm of this movement nationwide.
In 2016, Columbus Day was removed from New London public school’s calendar by the Board of Education who replaced this federal holiday with ‘indigenous peoples day.’ Christopher Columbus, whose name means ‘Christ bearer anointed by the holy spirit’ was stripped of his day and his story – pun intended. Not a single parent was notified and not a single original source was cited, yet the board decided to disparage a courageous explorer, symbol of Christianity and Latin hero who has been dead for 526 years. Never mind that these board members were not elected with a single indigenous person’s vote. Or, that the indigenous people we are supposed to be celebrating practiced slavery, cannibalism and human sacrifice long before Christopher Columbus landed in a world unknown to his contemporaries.
Ironically, Mary Margaret Curtain, the board’s president, who lead the charge against Columbus, also sat on city council when the council voted to level the last Italian neighborhood in the city; resulting in the horrific Kelo v the City New London Supreme Court decision. Hundreds of homes and businesses owned by Italians were taken by condemnation, in two waves, costing hundreds of millions of dollars and eradicating Italian Catholics and their rich immigrant history from the city.
Individual property rights are intrinsic to our uniquely American liberties, as is Christianity. So, it is no surprise that Ms. Curtain voted to attack both. Columbus is the single most import historic figure in the history of the Americas. He is the reason why we are a nation founded by Christians and blessed with the only Constitution in the world where the individual citizen derives their liberties from God, not the government. Turning Columbus from hero to villain is no accident. It is part of a strategy Cultural Marxists use to destroy our Christian heritage and national identity.
This philosophy is being taught relentlessly in schools across the nation and forms the foundation of Common Core. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Nations have developed the tools necessary to indoctrinate your children to think of themselves as global citizens, not citizens of the U.S. They demonize American traditions and stoke fires of discontent.
Connecticut Core aka Common Core’s sixth grade curriculum contains a teacher’s prompt targeting Columbus. Our children are instructed to use search engines that provide them with pre-determined, politically manipulated results. They are instructed to submit letters to local newspapers against Columbus and attend board of education meetings to push for the change they have been indoctrinated to believe in.
Today’s Cultural Marxists are focused on destroying Christianity and the natural law family. They believe that skin-color, gender bias, and sexual identity enslaves us and only social justice will free the marginalized from oppressive Western values. Educators and politicians have ignored the original sources of Christopher Columbus’ story and are blatantly lying to our children. They are attacking the ‘Christ Bearer’ for one reason only, to destroy the true foundation of Western culture – Christianity.
Lori Hopkins-Cavanagh is a radio show host, New London real estate broker and former Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives.