The "true story about Columbus Day" is that it is the part of our mythological pantheon that allows us to believe that America is something to be 'discovered'. Like success in capitalism, it is part of the American story because it perpetuates the belief that life is discovered, not inherent in you being born. If we told the story that America had always been here, we might get interested in what happened in pre-columbian history. A dangerous time of people living their god-given life, not having their right to life chartered through the church or corporation or other organizational entrapments.

An Example of what Daniel Quinn means by when you "...give them something better":   

I thought some people who be entertained, interested, stimulated, and otherwised amused by this Obama campaign stop, Watch the video: 

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/obama-adopted-by-native-am...

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

But surely the single most important event of the month was the revelation that arctic sea ice is melting faster than even the most dire forecasts had predicted. This is significant because it shows the power of reinforcing feedback loops: as sunlight-reflecting ice melts, it leaves dark water in its place - which absorbs more heat, causing more ice to melt, and so on. This year's minimum extent of ice was about one million square miles (as of September 16); the previous record low was 1.5 million in 2005. The rate of melting this year was 10 times the recent annual average. This month the Northwest Passage was ice-free for the first time in untold millennia. At this rate, the north polar region could be ice-free in summer by 2015.