Autobiography - The Galindo Group

Ram Galindo THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN Page 23
The Italian renaissance is perhaps the richest in examples of dreamers acquiring the
ability to pursue dreams. From the great Venetian explorer Marco Polo in the 13 th
Century through Leonardo da Vinci in the 16 th to Galileo in the 17 th , Italian history is full
of examples of great dreams-come-true. The city-states of Venice, Milan, Genoa and
others led the way in advancements in areas from accounting to medicine and
engineering. England, France and Germany were right behind. Through them all, one
common thread runs strong. All the giants of accomplishment had to be under some
superior patronage. Kublai Khan in Mongolia was for Marco Polo what Lodovico Sforza,
the Duke of Milan, was for Leonardo da Vinci and Cosimo II (a Medici) Duke of
Tuscany, was for Galileo. Even the English Sir Isaac Newton, who fifty years after
Galileo developed the latter’s mathematics into a complete physical system, had his
own patron. It was astronomer Sir Edmund Halley who paid the costs of taking Newton
public.
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CONCEPT “AMERICA”.
In pre-revolutionary America, as we did with so many other cultural traits, we also
inherited the ancient Roman practice of patronage. Freedom and patronage are
inversely related – more individual freedom reduces patronage and more patronage
reduces individual freedom. Thankfully, our Founding Fathers and their political heirs
had the persistent wisdom and vision to understand that relationship and gave us
freedom instead of patronage.
The difficulty of finding a sponsor was insurmountable for those without a connection
with the powerful and mighty, and often even for those who had a patron-client
relationship with a well-established family. In colonial America this was no different. This
factor, though not often verbalized as such, was indeed important in casting the dice of
the Revolutionary War. Yet, despite the unequivocal statement in the Declaration of
Independence that all men are created equal, the status quo remained unchanged for
most people until the conundrum created by some aspects of reality and the dreams of
the framers was resolved.
Ushered by the winds of European enlightenment, the time for the “American Concept”
had finally arrived. The greatest and most successful experiment in human social
organization was about to happen. In 1776, the members of the Continental Congress
declared that all men are created equal and that all have the unalienable right to life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Central to the pursuit of happiness is the right of
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