"The debate over Columbus is much wider than the question of whether he or his followers mistreated some Indians. The fundamental issue is whether the settlement of America by the bearers of Western civilization over the past five centuries was good or evil. Those who regard that process as evil want Columbus to bear blame for starting it all, and they use him as a symbol of everything they hate about the West, so as to strangle any sense of pride in the spread of civilization to the New World. 'Those who ultimately advocate and defend the realities of European culture and its industrialism are my enemies,' says Indian activist Russell Means, a noted critic of Columbus.
"The two sides of this conflict are sharply drawn: One holds that Western civilization is objectively superior and worth defending to the death, while the other holds that Western civilization is evil and must be destroyed. Now, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, with Western civilization under martial attack by militant Islamic fundamentalists, it is more important than ever to choose sides. As President Bush said to the nations of the world at the start of America's war against terrorism, "You're either with us or against us." Those who would defend and uphold the values of Western civilization must be willing to make the same bold declaration to the enemies of Christopher Columbus...."
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