The following editorial appeared in Voce Italiana, Oct-Nov, 2009.
The annual Columbus Day celebrations provide an opportunity for Italian Americans to renew and strengthen their Italian traditions and to show the world how proud we are of our accomplishments. As Italian Ambassador Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata aptly said at the recent Columbus Day ceremony in Washington, “Columbus Day should be celebrated as the event which more than anything else honors the Italian community in America. Italians’ industrious contributions, together with their cultural and moral legacy, remain fundamental to the growth of this great nation that is the United States.”
Let’s celebrate our Italian traditions and let us share them with our children and grandchildren. We see no conflict of allegiance in being proud of our Italian roots, just as we are proud of being Americans. Italian Americans have so enriched the American mosaic that we can truly say that it is the contributions of Italians in America that has built America. As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said earlier this year about Italian Americans: “…we are 40 million bridges between Italy and America. A country discovered by an Italian, named by an Italian, developed by Italian Americans, continuing to take pride in our Italian American heritage.”
God bless America and God bless the Republic of Italy. —FI
Read Full Post »