After five years of trashing the concept of a “great America” – that exceptionalism embodied in July 4th and a century of patriotic Hollywood movies – as Euro-American propaganda, the Left is finally realizing that the vast majority of Americans love their country, sins and all. Some Left-wing journalists now openly regret how patriotism and flag-waving have been monopolized by the “deplorables” as Hillary Clinton describes Trump voters. Surprising? Only to Leftist ideologues.
Disgraced former New York governor Andrew Cuomo shocked many Italian Americans when he publicly dismissed America in 2018 as “never that great.” Andrew is the silver-spoon scion of Mario, the man who primed the pump of national dissatisfaction in 1984 with his “Tale of Two Cities” speech at the Democratic National Convention. (But, how bad can a country be when you get a bridge you never built named after you?)
To his credit, Andrew defended Columbus and helped landmark the magnificent monument to the Great Navigator on Manhattan’s Columbus Circle. In that respect, he is unlike Alessandra Biaggi, granddaughter of the late Mario Biaggi – decorated police officer, U.S. Congressman, and Italic activist. Alessandra is a NYS senator who is pandering for votes to reach the U.S. Congress. She believes 1492 was a tragedy and the Columbus Monument is on borrowed time. Where did the Biaggi family go wrong?
Who knows why so many Italian Americans drift away from a heritage we find unequalled among ethnic groups. Over the years, our Institute has encountered a number of reasons: the lady who found our community a cerebral dead-end when she discovered Jewish intellect; the newspaper editor who chose his deep maternal Yankee forebears over his stonecutter father’s immigrant clan. I tire of saying it, but only a proprietary religion – Greek Orthodox, Jewish, Hindu, et al – that links ethnicity with language and tradition has any hope of molding children into ethnically proud adults. And, of course, Black Americans have both proprietary churches and a string of historically Black colleges to produce their ideal leaders.
Our nature is to assimilate to the dominant culture. We do so happily. We don’t lobby for Italy. Our affected families never got a penny for being unjustly persecuted in 1942 as “enemy aliens”. We embrace capitalism and democracy. We serve in disproportionate numbers in all America’s wars. I know of no Italian American convicted of betraying the United States. We intermarry with few ethnic or religious pre-conditions. Despite the media images, we are overwhelming honest, law-abiding, and tolerant. Over the centuries, we have discovered, invented, created, perfected, and disseminated so much for humanity and this country that few things exist without an Italian stamp somewhere on them. In a word, we make ideal Americans and have been benefactors to the world.
Last night I watched a TCM movie, The Beginning or the End, from 1946. A Hollywood production that detailed the origin of atomic energy and the Bomb. Prominent in the film was Enrico Fermi, pioneer of the nuclear chain reaction. Played by Maltese actor Joseph Calleia, Fermi is given the lion’s share of scientific credit for entering the Atomic Age. His Italian credentials were given first-rate treatment in the film, even down to a straw bottle of Chianti to celebrate the world’s first controlled chain reaction at the University of Chicago in 1942. Of course, Fermi was treated kindly as he was still alive when the film was made, but few movies at the time (or since!) portrayed an Italian “immigrant” character in such a positive way.
It would exceed our expectations if young Italian Americans, in pursuit of their American goals, also pursued a full-spectrum approach to their heritage. We founded the Italic Institute for just that purpose – to create “classical Italians” – proud Americans who seek a deeper understanding of their heritage via the awesome legacy awaiting their discovery. Just as waving an American flag doesn’t reveal a good American, saying you’re “Italian” can be just as superficial.
Last month, two of my retired cousins went to Italy for the first time. I was told that it was a culinary journey – wine and food mainly, no museums or educational tours. Both their wives are Irish Americans, and I’m sure they appreciated the grandeur of Italian civilization from a fresh, detached perspective.
As often the case, it takes a stranger’s eyes to open your own. -JLM
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