December 10, 2008

An interview with Eugene Ulisse Mariani

Eugene Mariani is most of all a friend who lives in St. Louis. He is still teaching as a professor at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also a visiting professor at Chengdu, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China on behalf of Webster University in St. Louis. 

What is your reaction to the election of Barack Obama as the American President-Elect and to the changes that will be coming as a result? 

I will attempt to answer your questions first from my perspective as an Italian-American and secondly  as an ordinary American citizen who strongly supported Barack Obama in his Presidential campaign.  As you know, I have been very active in the Italian-American community of St. Louis, Missouri for many years. Based on my experience, I do not believe that there was a typical Italian-American position with regard to this election. Many Italian-Americans voted for Obama and many voted for McCain but there was no racial prejudice involved either way. The fact that one candidate was black and the other white did not enter into the decision-making process of most Italian-American voters, especially among the younger people. The important issues were about the candidates’ respective policies and not about the color of their skins. Race was not an issue.
Prejudice is something that many older Italian-Americans have directly experienced in the United States. Anti-Italian prejudice is still vivid in the minds of many of us. I am a first generation Italian-American. My father emigrated from Italy in 1922 and my mother, although born in the United States, was the daughter of Italian immigrants. I was born in 1932.  I grew up during the years of the great depression and WW II and I can remember seeing and experiencing many examples of anti-Italian prejudice as a young boy.  That situation is no longer true in the US. As time passed, Italian-American children grew up, attended universities and became assimilated into American culture and society.  Now, there is no longer any limit on how much Italian-Americans can achieve or how far we can go – in any field whatsoever, whether in business, the professions, the universities, or in politics.
But prejudice against African-Americans was infinitely greater than that experienced by any other ethnic group and while equal rights legislation has greatly reduced the resulting injustice, prejudice still exists today to an extant in the United States – especially in certain parts of the country. And the fact that such prejudice still exists is what made this election of such historic importance.  Just as the election of John Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic ever to become President disproved the fact that religion would be a decisive factor in Presidential elections, the fact that Americans – both black, white – overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama for President disproved the belief  that race would be the overriding issue in this election. The fact that a black man will become President of the US is of immeasurable historic importance and of paramount significance.  Just a few years ago, it would have been inconceivable that a black man could be elected President. Now it is a fact. It is a turning point in American history and the country will never be the same as it was before.
In general, the Italian-Americans I know who did not votefor Obama, did so for two reasons. One reason was that many are conservative Republicans and believed that the Democratic Party would move the nation too far to the left and into the direction of Socialism and the welfare state. The second reason is that most Italian-Americans are Roman Catholic, at least in name, and were very concerned about the issue of abortion. The Catholic Church takes a very strong position against abortion and made it very clear that it believes that a vote for the Democratic Party would be a vote to overturn the Roe v. Wade constitutional amendment. I believe that many Italian-American Catholics were strongly influenced by the Church’s position and voted Republican for this reason alone.
I voted for Barack Obama because I believe that he was the better choice for President of my country.  It was Obama’s intelligence, his superb education, his family history, his international upbringing and background, his ideas, his ability to express himself, and the calm, thoughtful manner in which he carried himself that convinced me.   I also believe in Obama’s basic philosophies and that of the Democratic Party; his position on the Iraqi war, on universal healthcare, the improvement of education.  As a practicing Catholic, I am opposed to abortion but believe that this is a matter of personal moral choice. I also believe that in considering the overall direction of the country that there are other moral issues – such as universal medical care - that must be considered as well.
I think that the road ahead will be difficult for Obama and for the United States given the immense problems we face with the economic situation, the war, terrorism, the environment, and globalization to mention just some of the issues facing us and the world. But I believe he will put our country back on the right road, that his policies will improve the lives of all Americans, and that the United States once again will achieve the respect and admiration of the entire world. Yes, we can!_