I have an acute interest in Vito Fossella's situation. I was born and raised on Staten Island. I now live in North Carolina; but I am a cousin of Guy Molinari, and worked for him when he won his 1980 congressional election to capture that particular seat from the Democrats. And it has been in Republican hands since then-- until this year, at least. It is now at risk of being lost.
As a conservative Republican, Christian, whose four grandparents all came from southern Italy, this is a heartbreaking situation. While Vito is not purebred Italian (his Wiki entry indicates he also has some Irish blood), he nonetheless comes from a ethnic tradition in which a sense of obligation and duty to one's family has previously been held to be of prime importance. That had been an Italian-American cultural strength, which unfortunately is becoming diluted with assimilation, and as each generation is further removed from our immigrant grandparents and great-grandparents.
I also know that human frailty is unfortunately our common lot, and is not restricted to Democrats or Republicans. The fact that a pro-family conservative falters on matters of adultery or divorce or having out-of-wedlock children is unsurprising, because these pathologies are so widespread throughout our culture, and we all fall short in our own ways. This does not reduce the validity of the pro-family political effort to improve our common culture. That is an uphill battle because of how badly things have deteriorated. But it is also intrinsically Italian because it calls us back to the wisdom of our ancestors, whose devotion to the nuclear family unit was entirely admirable-- and should be emulated.
I look forward to reading your book on Staten Island Italian American culture. Best regards,
Fossella
Jerry--
I enjoyed your article very much.
I have an acute interest in Vito Fossella's situation. I was born and raised on Staten Island. I now live in North Carolina; but I am a cousin of Guy Molinari, and worked for him when he won his 1980 congressional election to capture that particular seat from the Democrats. And it has been in Republican hands since then-- until this year, at least. It is now at risk of being lost.
As a conservative Republican, Christian, whose four grandparents all came from southern Italy, this is a heartbreaking situation. While Vito is not purebred Italian (his Wiki entry indicates he also has some Irish blood), he nonetheless comes from a ethnic tradition in which a sense of obligation and duty to one's family has previously been held to be of prime importance. That had been an Italian-American cultural strength, which unfortunately is becoming diluted with assimilation, and as each generation is further removed from our immigrant grandparents and great-grandparents.
I also know that human frailty is unfortunately our common lot, and is not restricted to Democrats or Republicans. The fact that a pro-family conservative falters on matters of adultery or divorce or having out-of-wedlock children is unsurprising, because these pathologies are so widespread throughout our culture, and we all fall short in our own ways. This does not reduce the validity of the pro-family political effort to improve our common culture. That is an uphill battle because of how badly things have deteriorated. But it is also intrinsically Italian because it calls us back to the wisdom of our ancestors, whose devotion to the nuclear family unit was entirely admirable-- and should be emulated.
I look forward to reading your book on Staten Island Italian American culture. Best regards,
Joe Guarino, MD, MPH