Columbus Day

Today is Columbus Day. Traditionally, this is the day that we celebrate the explorer and his accomplishment of "Discovering" the American Continent. How did this come about?

How does any accomplishment come about? Hard work, perseverance, dedication to an idea. In short, imagination!

In his day, the voyage which eventually uncovered the "new" world was akin to the exploration of space in today's terms. The dangers were just as real and the outcomes were just as unknown. This is what we celebrate today. The risk!

Columbus did not just risk for himself. He risked the crown of Spain. In his world, failure was not an option. You don't convince the Queen of Spain to back a venture if you can't produce results. There was no turning back for Columbus. Fortunately, he did not. If he had, the history of Europe would have been much different.

The same is true today. Very few are willing to take a risk. In this country, we can not even govern. The current Government "shutdown" is proof of that.

If it were up to the politicians, there would not only be no scientific accomplishment in this country but the would would stagnate. Here in America, we used to be leaders in Mathematics and Physical Sciences. We are lucky today if we can teach our young people to read.

Municipalities are cutting education budgets. Education is the last place any budget should ever be cut. The politicians want the crime rate to decrease. They speak of "American Family Values". They have no idea what they are talking about. Education is the key to all of these problems.

Instead of the government wasting money on slick web sites to promote exercise, let's put money into education and get our children's brain's as well as their bodies moving. I remember being in school and we went outside and ran around. Gym class was every year in the public schools. Not any more.

Everything creative is being cut. Schools are being shut down and children are not being encouraged by our society to achieve. Achievement has somehow become unfashionable. Now, it's the latest video game. Let's just completely live in a fantasy world.

Watch the news from this weekend. Veterans had to storm the people's monuments in our Nation's Capital in order to visit what was their's to begin with. They achieved. But, they are from another generation. The generation of action.  That action came from education. The knowledge that they had the right to protest an unjust action by an unjust government. Guess what, they learned that in school.

The government has been shut down for 2 weeks now. Shame on all of them. From the President on down. They have all failed all of us.

That's my take on Columbus Day, 2013. We've got to change things. Our priorities have gotten all turned around.

I'm sorry if this post has become sort of a rant. I'm fed up.

As Always...