Very true. They weren't saints. They're people, no better or worse than any other race.

So, let me see if I have understood your message.

If one believes that Christopher Columbus committed crimes against humanity against the indigenous  people of Hispaniola, which there is plenty of evidence of in his and some of his crew-members journals and letters, that means that person cannot believe they live in the greatest country in the world. Do I have that right? Sounds like your belief in American Exceptionalism is very fragile. And, if you need to to hang onto it, like a life preserver, to keep your belief about the greatness of our country afloat, then that belief seems to be weak also.