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We The People Petition to Rededicate Columbus Day to Exploration Day

We The People Petition to Rededicate Columbus Day to Exploration Day

As soon as Karl Frank heard of Neil Armstrong’s death, he instantly wrote a short article about Armstrong’s triumphant life.  It felt good, but it didn’t feel like enough.  Later in the evening, he turned on the TV and flipped through channels to see what the world was saying about his life and his passing.  In at least two media reports, they compared Armstrong to Columbus’s achievement in exploration.

In the word’s of ‘Despicable Me,’ “Light bulb.”

I have never been a fan of having a Federal holiday named after Columbus’s accidental conquest.  Like Karl’s wife said when he mentioned this to her, “Why? Because saying he discovered America is like walking into a grocery store and saying you discovered milk?”

But even more than that, he thought it was a great idea to change Columbus Day to Neil Armstrong Day.  After all, Armstrong is a true American hero who actually knew where he was going and he did what he did for a much grander purpose than for gold, genocide, and conquest.

Since that moment, the has only accelerated.  He immediately contacted his good friends, Tom Diehl, former President of the Mehlville Board of Education and Dr. Rod Wright, political scientist and President of Unicom-Arc to see what we needed to do.

Mr. Diehl responded back that he liked the idea but suggested that the day be dedicated to exploration.

The next thing you know, Mr. Diehl wrote a brilliant petition for the White House on their ‘We the People…’ web site.  A Facebook page, and Twitter account was created and this new website/blog was formed.

Our most current petitions can be found on Change.org for Congress and We the People… for the White House.

 


For many Americans, Columbus Day no longer fits the litmus test of credibility and relevance. The true American character is about attaining the impossible through exploration, scientific research, innovation and creativity. Let’s rename the holiday “Exploration Day.”