I wish to share with you a few thoughts on this pre-Christmas Sunday afternoon, as we hopefully continue to exit this often tragic and sad morass of a Covid-19 existence we have had to endure for the past nineteen-plus months. Some of you will recall bits and pieces from some other communiqués of mine, but, alas, they tell us that repetition is the greater form of education.

In important moments such as the one we have been experiencing this past year with regard to Italian/American culture and activism, or lack thereof, two crucial themes — general in nature, not particular to anything specific motif or individual — often seem to raise their heads: (1) the conception and/or treatment of Italian Americans by society at large, and (2) what we can do about it in the form of actions, be said actions “re-active” or “pro-active”! Yes, there is a purposeful reiteration and/or alliteration of terminology here.