Among the famous poems that are always covered in high school literature classes, one by Scottish poet Robert Burns stands out: “I saw lice in a church lady’s bonnet and got lice”.
Burns delights in telling the story of sitting behind a woman in church wearing a fancy new hat, but not realizing there were lice crawling on it. Ms. Burns is so proud of that hat, but how embarrassed she would be if she only knew how stupid they look to others – and how much we all should. That must be embarrassing, she said with a grin.
Burns sums it up this way: “Oh, let genius give us strength — to see ourselves as others see us!”
During the five weeks I spent in Italy trying to master Italian, I thought of that poem many times. That may not be the first question for Italians. In fact, I found that they are very respectful of the fact that American tourists come to study or just to enjoy Italy’s beauty, history, culture, language, and food. . They have found that the last thing Americans visiting Italy want to talk about is their country’s politics.
But at least if you’re there long enough, sooner or later questions will pop up. Conversations with professors, fellow students, waiters, taxi drivers. And the question is always some version of this: What the hell are you thinking?
Italians, in general, have always had a very high opinion of the United States. Many of them have family in America. But there’s no question what they think of us now. Many of them think we are crazy. They can’t believe we elected Donald Trump as president in the first place. Now they don’t really believe we might elect him again.
Please learn a lesson from us, they told me. We once made the big mistake of electing a wealthy, flashy, self-centered businessman. His name was Silvio Berlusconi. He served as Prime Minister intermittently for a total of nine years in four governments, from 1994 to his 2011 term. And he was a total disaster.
As many journalists pointed out in 2016, when Trump first ran for office, Berlusconi was Trump before Trump was Trump. Roger Cohen wrote in the New York Times:: “Anyone who knows Mr. Berlusconi and has watched the rise of Donald Trump can’t help but be struck by the similarities.” The Daily Beast: Barbie doll Lazza Nadeau warns“If Americans are wondering what a Trump presidency will look like, they need only look at the traumatic wreckage of Italy, which has gone Berlusconi’s way.”
In fact, the similarities with Silvio Berlusconi are someone who died last year, Donald Trump is impressive. Neither had any previous government experience. Both owned professional sports teams. Both men routinely insulted their political opponents. Both men were accused of mismanaging the budget, increasing the national debt, attacking the media, behaving like dictators, and running for office solely to line their own pockets. Both were fans of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
And both were notorious womanizers. Both were tried for sexual abuse. In June 2013, Mr Berlusconi was also found guilty. He was sentenced to prison for having sex with a prostitute and using his power to cover it up. Sound familiar?
Italians please us. We’ve been there, done that. Don’t make the same mistake we did.
Does it matter what other people think of us? If we have any self-respect, we should. If we truly love our country, we don’t want to be the laughing stock of the world. As true patriots, the questions Italians ask us are questions we should all ask ourselves. “What on earth are we thinking?”
Bill Press hosts “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.
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