L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 8 FRANCESCA BEZZONE A merica: its name alone has been enough to bring a sparkle in the eye of several generations of young Italians. A sparkle of hope, initially: hope for a better life, hope for a future free from hunger and poverty, just as the one our migrating ances tors mus t have had in their eyes w hen s ailing through the Atlantic for the first time. But also a sparkle mirroring opportu- nities and dreams, endless possi- bilities and fresh starts. Indeed, America to young Italians was, and still remains, a land where dreams - all types of dreams - can turn into reality. No other place on Earth has been so incredibly attractive to our youth as much as the US, its only com- petitor being perhaps the UK, a geographically closer option for those not ready to take the big leap to the other side of the pond, and reassured by being only a couple of hours' flight away from their families and friends. Yet, when thinking of the country offering the most, the place able to fulfill aptly and completely one's expectations, America is unbeatable. Of course, there are many reasons for this. It is undeniable Italians, especially young Ital- ians, are besotted with the US, i t s c u l t u r e , i t s h i s t o r y e v e n . Since the 1970s, the vast major- ity of us has grown up watching American shows on tv, listening t o A m e r i c a n m u s i c , r e a d i n g American novelists and covet- ing American clothes. For my g e n e r a t i o n , i t w a s a l l a b o u t Chuck's, Nirvana and Friends. Today's kids prefer Vans, rap and The Big Bang Theory, but the Geist remains the same: it's America, it's the place where all happens, the land of what we want to become "when we grow up." In the eye of a young Ital- ian teen, America is where all trends are born, where people turn rebellion and angst into the best music, where the sky is big- ger, bluer and freedom reigns. Yes, freedom. Because it all started with history, to be hon- est. It all started with the way America rebelled against injus- tice and domination, all those centuries ago, creating the earli- e s t e x a m p l e o f c o n s t i t u t i o n where equality among individu- als was considered a staple of the nation's life. But freedom lies also in the immensity of its l a n d s c a p e s , t h e w i d t h o f i t s r o ad s an d th e o v er w h elmin g sense of having no boundaries when traveling on one of its highways for the first time. And then America fought against slavery and saved Europe from o b l i v i o n d u r i n g t h e S e c o n d World War, showing the world how much liberty still counts to its people. This is what young Europeans, young Italians, often see when dreaming about Amer- ica. And then, we're talking about t h e c o u n t r y t h a t g a v e t o t h e w o r ld N ath an iel H aw th o r n e, Sylvia Plath and Johnny Cash. How couldn't one be besotted with it? As important and rooted in extraordinary ideals, the US is more than Italy's everlasting teenage dream, it has been - con- stantly and continuously - a safe harbor to develop ideas and to grow potential and innovation. Take famous Nobel Prizes Enri- co Fermi, Rita Levi Montalcini and Renato Dulbecco: educated in Italy, they however found the right support to develop their projects and life saving research in the US. Closer to us in time, w e h a v e R e n a t o C a p e c c h i , geneticist and Nobel prize win- ner, Giorgio Bellettini and Gior- gio Einaudi, both physicists or Elisabetta Vitali, who is part of the Armenise Harvard Founda- t i o n a n d h a s b e e n w o r k i n g between the US and Italy for the past 20 years. Today more than ever, these successful examples of Italians in America strike a very sensi- tive point for many. Because we cannot speak of American dream and new generations' attitude towards the US without men- t i o n i n g t h e d r e a d e d t o p i c o f Italy's "brain drain." Yes, "brain drain," that phenomenon causing a large amount of young, talent- e d I t a l i a n s t o e s c a p e t h e i r - always loved - country to build a better, more rewarding and just p r o f e s s i o n a l c a r e e r a b r o a d ; n e e d l e s s t o s a y , t h e U S i s a favorite destination, and rightly so. In the end, as the examples m e n t i o n e d a b o v e - b u t a l s o many others of young, talented I t a l i a n s m a k i n g a n a m e f o r themselves in America show - we are talking about a country that, when it comes to giving the right opportunities, rarely disap- points. Or, if it does, it's certain- ly to a much lesser extent than Italy. Because in the US hard work pays and it's how people build their careers; because in the US, young Italians sense, ideas, resilience and dedication can really make a difference. Because in the US meritocracy still exists, and for people com- ing from a country where years a n d y e a r s s p e n t s t u d y i n g o r working to gain meaningful pro- fessional experience usually land you the same salary as an unskilled laborer, it means an awful lot. Young Italians - millennials, to say it with the cool kids - still d r e a m t h e A m e r i c a n d r e a m because in spite of it all, the US still offers fair opportunities to them, fairer than those they may be getting in their own country. In America, they can embrace their teenage reveries, see with their own eyes what they learnt t o k n o w f r o m T V , v i s i t t h e streets where their music idols grew up and, while doing that, they are free to think their intel- ligence, hard work and determi- nation can count for real. And this is why many Italians choose to leave and settle in America, even if our national economy has been slowly recovering. But there's something more to consider, as leaving home is never easy and, everyone knows i t , t h e r e i s n ' t a p e o p l e a s a t t a c h e d t o t h e i r c o u n t r y a s much as we Italians are. Ameri- ca feels naturally like a second h o m e t o u s , b e c a u s e o f t h e innate warmth of its people and, well, because so many Italians have been there for so many generations; it's like moving in with a beloved aunt, who'll take care of us while we grow up and get ready to make it on our own. Someone who is there to show us the way, without ever asking u s t o f o r g e t w h e r e w e c o m e from. To young Italians, America was - and still is - a land where dreams can turn into reality NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Is Italy still dreaming the American Dream?

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