2021 April 20 « Reviews and Views

The American Creed – lest we forget…

Sometimes we seem to forget our longing for freedom. We are born with this longing, but the pressures of the day-to-day routines cloud our thoughts and take up our time.

A man named Dean Alfange wrote the following short statement during the 1950s. He was born to two ethic Greek parents in Constantinople. They all moved to New York in 1902, where he was raised in Utica, NY. He served in the army during WWI and later in several political positions for both political parties. He wrote about what it meant to him to be an American.

“I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon. I seek to develop whatever talents God gave me—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any earthly master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say – ‘This, with God’s help, I have done.’ All this is what it means to be an American.”