Autobiography - The Galindo Group

Ram Galindo THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN Page 222
President George Herbert Walker Bush (41 st President of the U.S.) has built his librarymuseum
in my hometown of College Station. For this reason he is often in this
community and his words are widely heard. One of his most repetitive messages relates
to the obligation we all have to give something of ourselves back to the communities in
which we live. Before Gen. Colin Powell became Secretary of State, his mission was to
press Americans into what he called “volunteerism”. I believe every statesman at some
point or another hits upon the obligation we all have to give back something from our
creative talents, not just taxes. The theme is common in many commencement
speeches at colleges all over the country. The message of the obligation to serve is
hard to escape. Service has thus become a hallmark of America.
Undoubtedly my greatest and most lasting inspiration came from my Dad and Mom. As I
describe in Character at the Nucleus (Chapter 4), they dedicated a good part of their
lives to community service. This was also true of most of my immediate relatives, who
reiterated the lesson with their example. My Mom was clear about her position on
matters of charity and service, often reminding us how easy it was to be generous with
somebody else’s money and how significant it was to do so either with our own funds or
time.
I must admit that in matters of service to community, state or country I take a position
that is also convenient to my personal interests. I believe this is normal, honest and
natural. It is also what everyone does, regardless of any protestations to the contrary.
The energy with which we approach public service is directly proportional to our
personal interest in it. This does not mean that I believe all public servants are cynical
hypocrites, nor that they are selfless and altruistic apostles dedicated only to help
others. In the preceding Section Creation of Chapter 3, I set forth my impressions of the
many types of compensation sought by different persons at different stages of their life.
The truth is that there always is a reward to volunteerism. The reward sought could vary
from leaving a historic legacy, gaining popularity at the polls or at the local club, having
good press, saving a forest, creating better living conditions through improvements in
the community, obtaining new contacts, succeeding on a military stealth mission or
even securing a safer world by bringing peace to whole regions. At the end, there is
always something for each of us, no matter how altruistic our frame appears. Even our
military heroes did their heroic deeds in pursuit of a goal that would help them and their
loved ones if there were no other more direct rewards. I am glad that we are all aware
that these rewards exist and that they are powerful enough to bring the best virtues out
of all of us. America excels at providing opportunities to seize these rewards and
Americans grab them by the millions.
My first exposure to volunteering came as my son Cid started school. As I indicated in
Freedom Fighters (Chapter 2), I was then involved in, for the standards of my
generation in Bolivia, an epic struggle for freedom. A part of this activity related to the
defense of the American School campus in Cochabamba in 1970.
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