Autobiography - The Galindo Group

Ram Galindo THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN Page 19
In time the Roman Republic improved and polished its quasi-democratic system but it
seldom abandoned term limits and never class stratification. The former limited
government power but the latter deprived all but a few from the possibility of pursuing a
dream. The Roman Patricians and Plebeians reserved freedom for themselves. The
lesser classes were given patronage, paternalism and slavery. Yet, due to the opening
offered to all Roman citizens by the “patron-client” system of social organization that
lasted through the Empire and beyond, many artists, philosophers, writers and soldiers
were able to rise high and help Rome achieve its astonishing civilization.
In my view one of the key ingredients that makes America the land of opportunity is the
lack of a patron-client system. Patronage and paternalism tend to perpetuate class
distinctions and slow upward mobility. I began to experience this while, as a freshman
student, I worked in the kitchen at Villanova University’s cafeteria. Among my coworkers
were several Hungarian refugees who had just escaped Hungary following the
1956 failed rebellion against the communists. Some of them had been at the verge of
losing their lives when the Soviet tanks rolled in to reinforce Hungary’s puppet
government.
Like these new immigrants, I was learning a new language and adapting to a new
country. We were all glad to have a job, no matter how menial. I think that deep down,
in a still very inchoate way, we all realized we had arrived at our final destination and
that here we had a chance of pursuing our dreams without fear of being forcibly
despoiled. This affinity provided a bond that, in our broken English, allowed me to learn
details of Hungary’s communist oppression, which I found extremely similar to what was
being tried in Bolivia at that time.
Through this personal contact with former foot soldiers of the war against communist
tyranny, I saw evidence that the spark of freedom never dies and that there will always
be people willing to die rather than live under totalitarian oppression. These
relationships reinforced my growing awareness that the fight for freedom could get a lot
harsher than what I had so far been exposed to. Yet despite our common abhorrence of
communist dictatorship, I sensed that they yearned for the presence of some authority
that would give them new directions at every step of the way. I had no such yearnings.
Although I wasn’t aware of it at the time, I was different from them in my subconscious
rejection of the patronage system for myself.
Their mindset had been formed by an implacable education that subordinated
individuals’ initiatives and rights to the mandates of superiors. Without my specific
awareness at the time, our opposing views of opportunity sprouted from roots planted
centuries before. About 450 years before I listened to the dreams and tribulations of my
Hungarian friends, during the European renaissance after the discovery of the new
continent and the appropriation of its never before seen wealth, voices began to be
heard about the idea of giving all individuals access to their ultimate power – the power
to pursue individual dreams. This concept was still so rare that it applied only to the
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