Since our perspective is Italic, I assembled a list of notable paesani who made a splash in 2020, that sobering and contentious year. Their talents ran the gamut from entertainment to science, but most of them got sucked into the political maelstrom that convulsed America.
Dr. Anthony Fauci easily heads this list – an 80-year old man of science who found himself engulfed in a pandemic and thrust into bitter politics. He was misled by both the Chinese and the World Health Organization, flip-flopped on masks and lockdowns, and crossed sword with President Trump, but he kept America informed and focused. His calm demeanor dates back to the Roman stoics and that Italian character trait called sprezzatura – the ability to take difficulties in stride and to cast off criticism.
Oddly enough, my next notable is Food Channel’s Guy Fieri. His show Drive-ins, Diners, and Dives gave me insights into why the China Virus has reaped such havoc in America. Intended to spotlight the diversity of cuisines (and mega-portions) throughout the country, the show left you aghast at how people can consume so much oil, sugar, fat, and carbs in one sitting. Little wonder that diabetes and obesity have put thousands of Americans in the ICU. A wise Fieri loves to indulge on the show, but leans towards veggies at home.
Another practitioner of calm was Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Totally opposite his boss in flare – the only Italian I know who speaks in monotone – Pompeo was nevertheless in total synch with Trump. The innovative Trump/Pompeo foreign policy may survive future President Biden.
Trump’s former Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway (mother, DiNatale) was a feisty Italian in dealing with reporters. She defended Trump even at home, planning a divorce from her anti-Trump husband, George, and returning to the Trump fold.
None of our paesani was neutral in the Trump era. Governor Andrew Cuomo wanted “to deck him,” over pandemic issues. Media folks like Mark Ruffalo, Alyssa Milano, Joy (Occhiuto) Behar, Jimmy (Iacono) Kimmel, and journalist Frank Bruni wished him gone, if not worse. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prayed nightly for an undisclosed fate of her nemesis. L.A. Mayor Eric (Roth) Garcetti and New York Mayor Bill (Wilhelm) DeBlasio saw him as Satan. Flash-in-the-pan Michael Avenatti, who thought he could ruin Trump legally, was eventually carted off to jail himself. And who could forget slick financier Anthony Scaramucci who became an instant, but brief, CNN star after Trump fired him.
In the cultural sphere, a few names stand out. Robin DiAngelo’s book White Fragility left utopians and anarchists agog in its deconstruction of Euro-America through guilt. Countering DiAngelo’s attack on society was investigative reporter Christopher Rufo who exposed how institutions and government were spreading DiAngelo’s anti-Euro message. In reaction, President Trump ordered agencies to end these “Critical Race Theory” brainwashings. Recently, Rufo revealed how Seattle public schools were training teachers to “bankrupt their white privilege” and accept how “spirit killing” of Black children occurs daily through systemic racism.
DiAngelo’s inspiration in remaking society could be long dead paesano Antonio Gramsci, a founder of Italy’s Communist Party. “In the new order, [communism] will triumph by first capturing the culture via infiltration of schools, universities, churches and the media by transforming the consciousness of society.”
Finally, a notable voice in the climate change debate of 2020 was Joe Bastardi, a meteorologist and climate change “denier”. He actually doesn’t deny that the earth is warming up, but says it’s normal cycling. His new book, The Weaponization of Weather in the Phony Climate War, argues that the media and politicians have gone overboard in blaming carbon dioxide and giving humanity only 12 more years to survive. Truthfully, I’d rather believe him. Remember the “hole” in the ozone layer that got us excited back in 1987? The world had to stop using the old Freon. It’s hard to find aerosol shave cream these days. Now, 34 years later scientists want us to replace the new Freon. Why? Because the hole is still there, maybe a little smaller. One expert writes, “climate models show that ozone levels should return to standard measures by the end of the 21st century.” That’s another 80 years! If it will take 114 years to fix the ozone layer, how will we save the planet in only 12 years?
Joe Bastardi may not be the only “kook” of 2020. -JLM
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