Independence Day

July 4th America celebrates its independence from Britain. Fireworks, parades, barbeques, festivities. Americans celebrate their freedoms -- and there are many. It is a day when their love of country is in public display. Veterans are honored for their service to the defence of the country. Few other countries go to these lengths. There is pride and thanksgiving for living in a great society.

America is not perfect but it is still the symbol of freedom, opportunity, and the future. The country was found by Pilgrims from Europe, who came in search of religious freedom, and who wanted to escape unbearable conditions in their home continent. They came to build a country, not to exploit it. Over the years, immigrants from other parts of the globe have come to America. I am told that there are more than 175 nationalities in the USA. Talk about melting pot! So many wonderful flavors! They all have contributed uniquely to its progress and growth.

I have traveled to 70 countries, at last count. I have visited most for just a few hours or days; I have lived in a few for years. I have not found a better place to live, albeit as I have already said America is not perfect.

I am indeed a lucky person. I am citizen of two countries -- one by choice (America) and one by birth (Italy). I hold dual citizenship and I travel with two different passports. I learned some years ago that the Italian passport comes handy while traveling through the European Union, and that I save several hundreds of dollars when I visit Brazil and Argentina. The visa for US citizens costs several hundred dollars and it takes several days to get. Italians do not need a visa to enter these two South American countries.

I came at age 18 for a one year visit and decided to stay, to my parents chagrin. My father had waited 5 years to get a visa for us to emigrate to the USA and be reunited with his younger brother. My paternal grandfather Antonio emigrated to the US in 1912, returned to Italy to fight in the First World War in 1915, and came back to the US in 1918 for good. He died in 1943 and he is buried in New London, Connecticut. My maternal grandfather also spend 3 years in America around 1905-07 but he decided not to stay, preferring to return home.

My mother in particular wanted that the family stay close together but she did not get her wish. To overcome my father's opposition, I joined the US military so that I could stay. My middle brother Carmelo also decided to stay. My parents and my youngest brother Angelo returned to Italy after a couple years in America. Sadly, the 4th of July is also my late mother's birthday. She often reminded others that she was born on America's Independence Day!

Although I visit Italy frequently, I consider myself more of an American than an Italian. I have spent 75% of my life in the USA. I am married to an American citizen and so is my daughter. America is my home. It is where I want to be. It is where one day I will die.

I owe a great deal to this country. It gave me the opportunity to work my way through the university. This would have been impossible in Italy. I was also offered many opportunities as a professional and as an entrepreneur. I have made many lasting friends. I have become an American. I am reminded of this whenever I return to my home town, a fishing village on the Northern Sicilian coast. My relatives and their kids refer to me as the American. Here in the US my friends refer to me as the Italian or the Sicilian. I guess Americans love to hyphonate the origins ... Italo-American, Spanish-American, Irish-American, African-American, etc.

There is a song that Americans sing on the 4th of July. It always brings tears to my eyes. I would like to include a couple lines here:

Oh beautiful for spacious skies. For amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties, Above the fruited plain! America, America,! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, From sea to shining sea.

God bless America!