Submitted by Paul T. Collura, Nov 23, 2007 10:05

My grandparetns all came from Sicily as children seeking better living, educational and economic opportunities for themselves and their children in the storied land call America. They deliberately raised their offspring to be Americans first and foremost with little consideration for the country from whence they came. In fact, I was deliberately not taught Italian as a child so that I would be as American as possible from birth with no ethnocentric leanings. I had to take Italian in college and spend several sumers in Italy to really learn Italian culture. But, I must say my grandparents and parents were correct. Most Italian descendents are completely Americanized in one generation and many are unusually successful because we learned form day one to speak proper English and to cherish American values especially education. Many other immigrants primarily from Europe have done similarly. As a matter of record, my only sibling is a laywer and I'm a physician.

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