The indispensable Heather Cox Richardson draws our attention to the language of the recent presidential proclamation reclaiming "Columbus Day" from the haters. I'm struck by the Christian nationalist story which the writer of the proclamation (surely not the prez) is setting up. Some excerpts:
Today our Nation honors the legendary Christopher Columbus — the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization, and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the earth. This Columbus Day, we honor his life with reverence and gratitude, and we pledge to reclaim his extraordinary legacy of faith, courage, perseverance, and virtue from the left-wing arsonists who have sought to destroy his name and dishonor his memory. ...
He was guided by a noble mission: to discover a new trade route to Asia, bring glory to Spain, and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to distant lands. ...
Upon his arrival, he planted a majestic cross in a mighty act of devotion, dedicating the land to God and setting in motion America’s proud birthright of faith. Though he initially believed he had arrived in Asia, his discovery opened the vast frontier and untold splendors of the New World to Europe. He later ventured onward to Cuba and other islands in the Caribbean — exploring their coasts and engaging with their people....
Guided by steadfast prayer and unwavering fortitude and resolve, Columbus’s journey carried thousands of years of wisdom, philosophy, reason, and culture across the Atlantic into the Americas — paving the way for the ultimate triumph of Western civilization less than three centuries later on July 4, 1776.
Jesus Christ and Western civilization, virtue and steadfast prayer, "thousands of years of wisdom, philosophy, reason and culture" and "America's proud birthright of faith" - all of them culminating in the Declaration of Independence, "the ultimate triumph of Western civilization," oh my! This is a submarine sandwich of white nationalist tropes, tropes long associated with the figure of Columbus.
Richardson draws attention to how explicitly Christian it is. But haven't I said I think the storyline for 1776-2026 is going to be the less overtly Christian "faith, family, freedom"? That's in the proclamation, too, in its nod to the Italian Americans who created Columbus Day. (There's no mention of the civilizations of the Indigenous People of Turtle Island smothered by the Christian "birthright.")
To this day, the United States and Italy share a special bond rooted in the timeless values of faith, family, and freedom.
How do you think Giorgia Meloni understands the three f's? I won't nauseate you with more of this tripe; there is doubtless lots more of it to come. (This bombast will surely characterize the captions of the promised National Garden of American Heroes for which the NEH was eviscerated.) But I have to rub my eyes at the realization that the folks behind this belligerent chauvinism believe themselves to be the ultimate fruit of Western civilization!
Where's Sylvia Wynter when you need her?
