What We Need in a President

Let’s face it. Americans act and talk like their president. They adopt many of the behaviors of the president. They take the president’s advice and they adopt the president’s logic and ways of thinking. Everybody thinks they can be president of the United States.

It would seem to follow then that the single most important trait in someone who will be president of the United States is idealism. A president who does not aspire to idealism in his administration of the executive branch is not going to be an effective president. It is that spirit of idealism that sets a moral tone that will guide the nation. The president does not govern the nation. The nation governs itself. That’s why we have governors and mayors and county supervisors and sundry bureaucrats . They’re the ones who manage the nation. It is up to the president to take a moral and strategic view.  He is there to encourage, inspire and motivate Americans to be their best and to do great things in their daily lives. He gets the nation to fulfill its promise as outlined in the Constitution. The president is supposed to be someone who can unite the American spirit and explain to us that our differences are a source of strength, not a weakness. By setting an example for all Americans, the president should remind us to be good and to be proud of our American heritage. In other words, a president should be everything that George W. Bush is not , has never been and never will be. The president needs to be the moral and ethical leader of the nation. We have not had ethical and moral leadership for many years. Bill Clinton failed to inspire people with moral decision making. George W. Bush has been an anti-ethical leader. The white superiority mindset of the Bush Administration has infected the mindset of the nation.

By now most of America has a good sense of the immorality that has been the hallmark of the current administration, a cabal of despots who have betrayed the spirit of the U.S. Constitution. American dignity has been stripped away by the Republican Party, which really can no longer call itself the Party of Lincoln. It has become the Party of Nixon, an impeached president who let his paranoia and distrust of the American people overtake his sense of morality. George W. Bush has faithfully subscribed to Nixon’s low-dignity values. Reagan also was a good Nixonian Republican in that he began the dismantlement of the American middle class without conscience or morals. James Carville, the political strategist who helped Bill Clinton win the White House in 1992, said that the greatest gift that a person can give is his labor. The Republican Party has no respect for labor or the American working class. The Party of Nixon, under George W. Bush, has humiliated American democracy in front of the entire world. It is time for a new way of thinking. It is time for a president who understands ethics and who can lead from a position of morality, goodness and fairness.

 It’s time to open up the American presidency to a new generation that can lead and inspire us in the 21st century. The American Century has given way to the Pacific Century and that means China and Japan and Taiwan and South Korea (and hopefully North Korea) and Vietnam and Thailand and the Philippines, and Indonesia (and hopefully Burma). It is time to bring in new blood and new cultural insights at the highest levels of dignity. It’s time for a new line of dignity to represent America in the White House.

If Barack Obama becomes president, this country will start to feel different. Change really will happen and America might actually be able to start functioning as a true world leader in the 21st century sense of the word. As things stand now, we have a nation that has been fighting against a status quo that we have maintained since the nation was founded. Regrettably, we still have not broken out of the chains of racism that hold us down. We need to actualize what Martin Luther King, Jr. had started long ago. No doubt there will be convulsions from racism and resistance to change, change that has been delayed for too long. America needs an exorcism to help it cleanse its soul and open its heart, which is paralyzed by stone-cold indifference to what really matters in life. America needs to come to terms with the fact that it is a nation that discriminates in many, many different ways. It is a nation that discriminates in favor of those who have money and privilege. It is a nation that has perfected the art of discrimination within the framework of a “legal system”.

The Dalai Lama has said that Americans are very smart people but that we need to think more with our hearts. America’s competitive advantage in the world is its moral tone and its adherence to principles of equity and fair play. If America loses its morality, it loses.  And China wins.

Bravo to Ken Borelli for a Great Opera San Jose Benefit at the Italian American Heritage Foundation

Ken Borelli has proven that you don’t need to charge $175 per person to put on a terrific event that really inspires and educates people about Italian culture. The evening included some great food, a wonderful accordionist playing a variety of tunes to entertain people before dinner and some of the most talented opera singers to be found anywhere on the West Coast. They also had a raffle with lots of great prizes that were announced throughout the evening. And the cost per person was $35!

Of course the first thing that comes to mind is why can’t the Florence Sister County Commission do something like this? Why can’t they put on a display of Florentine opera, for example? Why do they charge $175 per ticket for a fundraiser every two years? Why can’t they schedule a fundraiser once a year and make it accessible to the citizens of Santa Clara County so that more people can learn something about Italian culture via the culture of Florence, Italy? How is it that the Florence Commission is unable to consider some of the ideas that Ken Borelli, the “Minister of Italian Culture”, as described by Irene Dalis, founder and general director of Opera San Jose, has successfully implemented? Why can’t the Florence Commission get its priorities straight? All the time and effort that the Florence Commission puts into its Medici Masked Ball could be better spent on a series of events that actually promote the extraordinary beauty of Italian culture. Instead, they choose to entertain a select few to the exclusion of others. It is this sense of exclusivity that makes the Florence Commission an embarrassment to county government, not to mention those who wish to showcase the best of Italian culture and heritage.

Even the Moscow Commission, another of Santa Clara county’s sister county commissions, has been able to put on a great event that cost about $35 per ticket and which was held at the Petit Trianon Theatre in San Jose. They actually shared real Russian culture with the citizens of Santa Clara County. The Florence Commission on the other hand acts like some kind of secret society, where you have to know the secret handshake in order to get in. How could a county commission get it so wrong for so long? How is it that they focus mainly on handing out awards to people, who though some may be of Italian ancestry, have done little to contribute anything substantial to Italian culture in Santa Clara County? What a horrible misuse of a county resource. Che vergogne!

As Ken Borelli has demonstrated with his opera benefit for the last 21 years, the enjoyment of Italian culture really should begin with Italian opera. It is Italy’s greatest gift to the world of the arts. It is magnificent storytelling that is accompanied by extraordinary music and voices that lead the way to a place that separates gods and goddesses from mere mortals.

Bravo, Ken Borelli. Please take a bow. You are one of those gods!

Florence Commission Prepares for Trip to Florence, Italy and Other Agenda Items

The question is what do they expect to accomplish on this trip, scheduled for May 18-25?  Accompanied by Gwendolyn Mitchell, the Director of Public Affairs for the County of Santa Clara, Santa Clara County Supervisor Pete McHugh will be leading the “delegation”, read junket, with a bunch of commissioners in tow, who will likely be running off to shop, shop and shop some more. That’s their idea of economic and cultural goodwill. Afterall, the Florence Commission is “committed to fostering the exchange of art, commerce, culture, education and technology in many areas between the people of both Santa Clara County and the Province of Florence, Italy.” At least they will be adding to the local Florentine economy. How noble their commitment to public service is! And after they raised $70,000 from last year’s biennial Medici Masked Ball fundraiser, they are flush with cash.

The current roster of commissioners as of April 25, 2008, includes

Barbara Cohen

Barbara Campisi

Christine DiSalvo

Marilyn Dorsa

Louise Ann Gliozzo

Patricia Figueroa

George Guglielmo

Constance LoBue Scarpelli

Helen Marchese Owen

Marge Louise Valente

Henry Schiro

Karen Mazzante Serpa

David Zappelli

Duilio Peruzzi

Arlene Pierraci-Herrick

Joanne Prolo

Conrad Russo

Delia Schizzano

John Sorci

Wendy Teague

 

Agenda Items of Note for the May 1st Meeting of the Florence Commission

A few of the items on the latest agenda, which is available to the public, for the Florence Commission include the usual stuff. The first thing is the Medici Masked Ball, the biennial fundraiser that always seems to keep going and going and going. It’s enough to drive you mad. This event kicks off with an awards ceremony in August and concludes with a grand ball, costing about $175 per ticket, and don’t forget that this is a public county commission we’re talking about, at the Fairmont Hotel in May 2009. It seems that no sooner has the ball ended that they start planning for it all over again. Formalwear is required.

So here they are getting ready to select the nominees for the “prestigious” Medici Masked Ball for 2009. Last year they handed out awards to four people! When they first started this thing they just had one award and now it’s up to four awards. Will they hand out five awards for the Ball, which is scheduled for May 16, 2009? We will just have to wait and see. This should be good. The problem with this awards event is that it’s total overkill. As if a big elaborate ball isn’t enough, these people have to have a pre-Ball event known as the Fall BBQ where they charged $55 the last time they held it in September 2006 at the Guglielmo Winery in Morgan Hill. Incidentally, they have held a commission-sponsored event at the Guglielmo Winery for the last four consecutive years, maybe even longer. While the Guglielmo Winery is a very beautiful location and one of the few Italian wineries in Santa Clara County, the fact that a family member of the Guglielmo Winery serves as a commissioner on the Florence Commission seems to go against the whole notion of separating commissioner-owned businesses from commission-sponsored events. If the Guglielmo family wants to hold commission-sponsored events at its winery, then they should not be on the Florence Commission. It’s a principal thing. It just seems to present an appearance of a conflict of interest, which goes against the mission of the Florence Commission, which is supposed to be there to serve the interest of the citizens of Santa Clara County and not the interests of the commissioners themselves, which even if the Guglielmo Winery says it does not make a profit and only breaks even on the event, there is the appearance of a commissioner benefiting from his relationship with the County of Santa Clara. But when this was pointed out during a meeting of the Florence Commission, they were thoroughly offended and seemed to imply that the rules just did not apply to them. Oops, sorry for trying to follow the rules that were taught during the MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING that all commissioners are required to take from the Office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. My bad! I guess the certificate that they give you for completing the MANDATORY ETHICS TRAINING is worthless afterall. But when the Ethics Commission does not even operate, what’s the point?  Senator Diane Feinstein would feel right at home with this group.

Well this year the Fall BBQ is scheduled for August 20, 2008 at Commissioner George Guglielmo’s Guglielmo Family Winery in Morgan Hill. The cost is $50 per person, a reduction of $5 from when they held this event in 2006. But don’t worry, the Guglielmo Winery isn’t making any profit from this. They’re just doing it out of the goodness of their hearts and for the grand publicity that this brings them. They just write it off to advertising costs and get credit for helping out Santa Clara County for a worthy cause, which will hopefully bring in more revenue later on in the year. Wink, wink.

 

Agenda Item: Education Scholarship

The other item on the agenda is to approve $2,000 each for four students attending Santa Clara University, Stanford University and San Jose State University to study abroad in Florence, Italy. What’s wrong with this picture? Why is a public county commission giving scholarships to students who attend Santa Clara University and Stanford University, two of the richest schools in the world? Stanford University has a $17 BILLION endowment fund. Why the hell is a public county commission giving any money to an organization that clearly does not need it? Why isn’t Stanford University donating money to the Florence Commission so that it can give money to citizens of the County of Santa Clara who want to learn more about Italian culture and heritage? Isn’t the Florence Commission excluding citizens of Santa Clara County when it requires that you have to be a student at one of these three institutions? If you are a student who wants to study abroad in Italy, you really don’t need the $2,000, now do you?  What’s up with that, Commissioner Wendy Teague, chairperson of the Education Committee?

So much for benefiting the citizens of Santa Clara County. Most of the students who have received monies from the Florence Commission aren’t even residents of Santa Clara County. Go figure. Maybe Santa Clara County Supervisors Liz Kniss and Pete McHugh should look into this more closely. But then again, this issue was brought to their attention and they preferred to ignore it and pretend that it does not concern them, even though the Florence Commission is there to advise the Board of Supervisors. Again, go figure!

But perhaps the most offensive thing about the Florence Commission is that when a local lodge of the Order Sons of Italy in America approached the Florence Commission in the spring of 2007 to ask them if they would like to put an advertisement for $125 in the program brochure for the annual convention, which was being conducted by the Mountain View lodge of the Sons of Italy’s California branch, to be held at the DoubleTree Hotel in San Jose in June 2007, the Commission voted no. Then right after that vote the Florence Commission voted to donate $100 to a charity of a commissioner’s sister who had recently passed away. The hypocrisy of the Florence Commission is extraordinary. Here was an excellent opportunity for the Commission to support and promote Italian heritage and culture within the County of Santa Clara and what did they do?  They turned up their better-than-thou noses as if a beggar who had not washed in four weeks had just walked by to panhandle some money.  Their attitude was: “Don’t say anything, and maybe it will leave.”

Well, keep your eyes open for future postings on the Florence Commission. They hope you won’t pay any attention to their little tea party because they sincerely believe that the rules just don’t apply to them. Democracy? No such thing when it comes to the grand ole’ Florence Commission. The culture of the Commission is one based on anti-rationalism. It is a culture that couldn’t be further from the traits most associated with the period of enlightenment known as the Renaissance, which centered around the city of Florence, the Commission’s namesake, and which lead to the age of exploration and discovery that would change mankind forever. Unfortunately, the Florence Sister County Commission of Santa Clara County is about as in-bred as they get. There is no enlightenment here. The enemies of new ideas are scorned and ridiculed and thrown into the dungeon of oblivion. This is in fact quite similar to what the Medici Family, the powerful benefactors of the city of Florence, did to their enemies.  Macchiavelli could tell you a few things about how the Medici tortured him when he was thrown into their dungeon that was reserved for the enemies of new ideas and criticisms. 

Like the Medici of Florence, the Florence Commission will do what they want and hope that nobody notices one damn thing, but that’s just not possible. It’s time to shine some light on their odious ways. If they want to play by their own rules, they should take the Florence Commission and spin it off as a private nonprofit 501(c) organization. That way they can charge whatever they want for their Medici Masked Balls and give away as much scholarship money as they want to whomever they want. But they should not be allowed to make a mockery of county government by conducting their activities in the name of the citizens of the County of Santa Clara.  But unfortunately, those entrusted to manage county government are all too happy to turn a blind eye and bend the rules or just ignore the rules and hope that nobody notices.

If you would like to receive the monthly agenda and minutes for the Florence Commission, you can contact the Office of the Clerk of the Board at 408-299-5115 or send an email to sistercounties@ceo.sccgov.org

Florence Commission meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM at the County Government Center and are open to the public.

Visit the website for all three sister county commissions at:

http://www.sccgov.org/portal/site/sistercountycomm

Osher Institute Sponsors Seminar on Italians in the Santa Clara Valley

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of San Jose State University sponsored a seminar on the Italian community of the Santa Clara Valley on Saturday, April 12th.  I want to thank everyone who participated and made the seminar a great success.  Seated from left to right are Ken Borelli, Franklin Maggi, Anthony Quartuccio, John Linda and Amy Moro Morgan.  Visit the Osher Institute at http://osher.sjsu.edu/courses

It’s My Life!

Hit it, Bon Jovi!

 

Remembering the Death of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. took a bullet on April 4, 1968 for the sake of social justice. The hate behind that single shattering piece of high velocity metal silenced a true American conscience. We must come to terms with the murder of a man who was trying to do the right thing for the greater good. He fought for dignity and fairness. He wanted respect and he wanted to be treated like a human who was created in the image of God.

The Commission for Social Justice of the Order Sons of Italy in America has much to learn from the teachings of Dr. King.  If anyone knows of any collaborations initiated by the Sons of Italy with African American community groups, please let me know. I’m not aware of any.

A blog which has just received a $300K advance to be published as a book by Random House is called “Stuff White People Like”   (www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com).  It’s a cutesy way for white people to look at their own vanity and ethnocentric perspective that they have on the world around them. I wonder what Dr. King would have thought about the philosophy expressed in this blog?  Given all the sacrifices that he made for social justice, would he have thought of this as progress? I wonder.

 Congratulations to the Clintons on releasing their tax returns. They earned nearly $109 million since they left the White House in 2000. Nothing goes together better than money and power. Maybe this is why Bill and Hillary think they are better prepared than Barack Obama to go up against John McCain and the Republican Party. They’ve reached “republicanhood”, while Barack still has a ways to go before he gets there.

May America one day soon achieve the vision that MLK, Jr. tried so hard to express before he was gunned down in cold blood. He was the conscience of America.

Commission for Social Justice of the Order Sons of Italy in America Demands Apology (No April Fool’s Joke)

A letter from Philip R. Piccigallo of the Commission for Social Justice of the Order Sons of Italy in America in response to the comments made by the Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright about Italians and the crucifixion of Christ. 

Start of letter 

“We write on behalf of the 103 year old Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA) and our 550,000 family members throughout the nation, and our anti-defamation arm, the Commission for Social Justice (CSJ), to strongly and unequivocally reject and condemn recently reported remarks made by the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. According to MSNBC  and other published and internet sources, Rev. Wright in 2007 stated: “[Jesus'] enemies had their opinion about Him . . . . The Italians for the most part looked down their garlic noses at the Galileans.” He then called Jesus’ crucifixion “a public lynching Italian style” executed in “Apartheid Rome”.

 

    OSIA and the CSJ have sterling records of championing social justice and fair treatment for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality or religion, and of combating, wherever and whenever necessary discrimination, defamation and stereotyping. We have worked closely, collaboratively and effectively for such causes  with numerous and various social , religious and cultural groups throughout our long history. The civically responsible, philanthropic and patriotic works of the Sons of Italy have been publicly attested to by every US president since Woodrow Wilson.

 

    Indeed, it is this unchallenged record of advocacy of social justice for all people that has delayed our response to Rev. Wright’s unfortunate remarks, as we seek to lend reason and clarity to a deeply troubling historical reality. Rev. Wright’s remarks cannot merely be attributed to “anger”, but must be viewed against the backdrop of many years of what historian Richard Gambino called a “monstrous tradition in America” and an “injustice which remains hidden” directed at Italians.

 

    While America of the late 19^th century witnessed widespread racist, ethnic and anti-Catholic hatred, few immigrant groups suffered more than Italians: in 1891, in New Orleans, ten Italian prisoners found not guilty by a jury were executed by a mob in the largest lynching in American history. That same year,  several Italians were lynched in West Virginia. In March 1894, several hundred Italians were driven out of Altoona, Pennsylvania, by an armed mob. In 1895, six Italian labor organizers were lynched in Colorado, six more in Hahnville, Louisiana, as were five Italian shopkeepers four years later in Tallulah, La. Fatal mob attacks against Italians were recorded in 1901, in Mississippi, 1906 in West Virginia, and 1910 in Tampa, Fl. In addition to the highly prejudicial and legally tainted Sacco and Vanzetti case of the 1920s, historian John Higham wrote that “No pogrom has ever stained American soil, nor did any single anti-Jewish incident in the 1920’s match the violence of the [vigilante mob-led] anti-Italian riot ” in  West Frankfort, Illinois.

 

    Words are important and have meaning, clear and subliminal. Shock jock Don Imus, whose very staple and basis for earning many millions of dollars, is the use of provocative, abrasive, demeaning and edge language, was fired and universally excoriated for the use of three extremely offensive and inappropriate words. A skilled communicator, Rev. Wright’s deliberate choice of words having explicitly 20^th century meaning (“lynching Italian style”, “Apartheid”, even “Italians”; there were Romans at the time, Italy didn’t exist) to describe first century AD events speak to an intention far beyond the expression of mere “anger”, or the citing of putative historical truths. We decry those intentions and sentiments as,  we are confident, do all decent and fair-minded individuals. Rev. Wright, while perhaps retired, nevertheless owes all Italian Americans a sincere apology. We live in a profoundly complex, multifaceted, diverse society, which defies simplistic questions, answers and reasons. We must transcend personal injustices and seek a deeper understanding and appreciation that each of us, separately and as a group, often are and feel offended. No one has a monopoly on being discriminated against, defamed or stereotyped.

 

    OSIA’s and the CSJ’s purpose here is not political. We desire no involvement in the current presidential campaign, nor do we wish to become embroiled in a political maelstrom. Still, one of the three candidates will, in all probability, become the next leader of the free world and the next president, thus representing all of the US’s 300 million-plus citizens, 26 million of whom are of Italian heritage. We believe that Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama must unequivocally condemn the words and sentiments voiced by Rev. Wright, and clearly disavow his actions.”

Philip R. Piccigallo, Ph.D

National Executive Director

Order Sons of Italy in America

The Supreme Council

Order Sons of Italy in America

The Commission for Social Justice Board of Directors

Women in Touch Luncheon at Gilroy Elks Lodge

 Author with Bunny Filice

On Thursday, March 20th, I was invited to have lunch with a wonderful women’s group in Gilroy known as Women in Touch. It was the first day of spring and the weather was incredible. The opportunity to talk about “Italians in the Santa Clara Valley” in the context of community was even more special and memorable during Holy Week. One of the women at my table described her memories when she first moved to Gilroy in 1965. The population at that time was around 8,000 people and there were many Italians. She said that the Italian community made her feel completely welcome. Some of her strongest memories were of good food, fun social events and a strong sense of home. Walking into the local pharmacy was a chance to meet your neighbors and share some news. Doors were never locked and everyone knew who their neighbors were.

My thanks to the ladies of Women in Touch who shared some of their memories with me and made me feel very welcome within their social community.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. Speaks Out Against “The Sopranos”

I recently read that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. gave a speech at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey on February 13, 2008 where he complained that “The Sopranos” has been harmful to the image of Italian Americans around the country. It is a significant development when a United States Supreme Court Justice says that it is wrong to have so much stereotyping of Americans of Italian heritage. Justice Alito, a graduate of both Princeton University and the Yale Law School, grew up in Trenton, New Jersey, where Antonin Scalia, another Italian American serving on the United States Supreme Court, was born, and then lived in West Caldwell, New Jersey, which is the setting for “The Sopranos”. As he has pointed out, “The Sopranos” is a triple whammy for Italian Americans, especially those from New Jersey, where 25% of that state’s population is of Italian ethnicity. The show spreads a simple formula of “Italian Americans, New Jersey, Mafia”. It simply is not fair to paint an entire heritage as part of a criminal class.

Guest Night at the Sons of Sicily in San Jose

It was great to be able to attend Guest Night at the Sons of Sicily monthly dinner on Monday, February 11, 2008 at Napredak Hall in San Jose. Many thanks to Vince Falcone of Falcone Coins in Willow Glen for the invitation. I had the chance to meet some great people and sign some books.

As we approach Valentine’s Day, I am reminded by a line in the novel “The Leopard” by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa, a Sicilian aristocrat who wrote his one and only novel at the age of 58. The novel’s main character, Don Fabrizio, is a wealthy Sicilian prince who is faced with changing times in Sicily and throughout the rest of the Italian peninsula. On the subject of love, Don Fabrizio says, “Love. Of course love. Flames for a year. Ashes for thirty.”

My advice? Don’t forget the box of chocolates!