One spring day, a Rose Hill sophomore jumped off the Ram Van at 60th and Columbus, turned to the guy who stepped off after him, and said, "Uhm, where's Columbus Circle?"
Oh, hon'.
But in his defense, any other visitor who didn't know of Columbus Circle as a New York landmark could walk around the circle, and never know unless they read the marker. Situated at 59th/Central Park South, 7th/Central Park West, and just touched by 60th, the statue isn't even on its namesake's avenue. Columbus' likeness sits 70 feet above street level, far from us pedestrians, looming and gazing towards the south of the island.
The face we do see at eye level is the angle guarding a globe, also facing south, right under Christopher’s gaze. At night, when the lights come up, they literally come “up” under the statue, so it is the angel who is illuminated more than the namesake.
Our winged friend brings to mind the angels from our texts and lectures - of the westward bound Manifest Destiny, the visions and intangible guiding forces felt by Jarena Lee, and the American virtues warning patriots of the coming immigrants.
In most narratives, angels are God’s servants, sent down from heaven to earth to carry a message or guide His people.
It is unfortunate, that the motif of angels can - and have - been commodified to serve selfish agendas.
We have heard of unexplainable circumstances being credited to angels - the Immaculate Conception, many of the prophecies across religions, even the family tale of how old grandpa Johnny survived falling down a well, because of his guardian angel.
But we don’t hear of angels guiding Columbus, leading the conquistadors to greatness in Central America, or protecting great generals in battle. We - the present day public who erect and maintain these statues and stories, leave angels out of the picture, crediting these men entirely for their (supposedly) own merits. Even in this statue that does feature an angel, he sits seventy feet below Columbus, practically seated on the ground with the pigeons and American Religious Texts students.
If a modern day paragon of service, of expanding the forefront of a field, were made today, we could easily see a push for Dorothy Day, Pope John Paul II, Pope Francis, or Malala Yousafzai. The former three would surely be enshrined within or under angels or saints - though, as we know from her autobiography and other quotations, Dorothy Day would shy away from being immortalized as such; no way should she be “dismissed so easily”.
The grounded angel under Columbus - is he part of the dismissal of Christopher’s acts? And what, if so, are we dismissing through this enshrinement? Is it dismissing Columbus’ feats and wins? Or are we dismissing the war, abuse of native peoples, and Old World imposition he brought to the Americas? Does our angel stay away, holding the globe in reminder of Columbus’ discovery, or is he guarding the globe from the past?
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