Autobiography - The Galindo Group

Ram Galindo THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN Page 91
CHAPTER 3
TO MAKE AND TO KEEP
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CREATION.
Almost singularly among all nations, the bases of America are not so much territory,
race, religion, history, language or even a common culture. The United States of
America is a country founded on propositions that carry through territory, races,
religions, history and even cultures. Among these propositions is the tenet that all men
have the inalienable right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If this proposition is
to hold true, the right to own property is essential, for a key ingredient to happiness is
the enjoyment of one’s creations. In tacit recognition of this relationship, the Fifth
Amendment of the Constitution unequivocally states that no person shall be deprived of
property without due process of law and that private property shall not be taken for
public use without just compensation. Thus, the right to own property and the freedom
to do with it as it best suits its owner is intrinsic to our social compact and to our right to
pursue happiness.
The constructive dream that lights the lives of most individuals and propels them to
patience, discipline and sacrifice is, in every case, one of self-improvement. The dream
may take many forms, from breaking a sports record, becoming an artist, teacher,
scientist, entrepreneur or statesman, or just being a good parent, but the underlying
substrata is always self-improvement. In every case the objective is to lift the standard
of living. The reality is that it takes money to achieve a higher standard of living. Thus,
at one level or another, everyone seeks to make money.
Thankfully, because of the strong influence of Calvinist morality, where making money
to improve one’s life was a great virtue, in America it is still virtuous to make money.
And mostly, although seemingly always in a declining trend line, those who make it
honestly may still keep it. Therefore many persons with a dream of self-improvement
who are not already here want to come to America.
Great athletes have figured out how to transform their prowess into money; so have
singers, musicians, dancers, painters, writers, actors and all kinds of people with the
determination to excel at their own skill. The right of people to accumulate wealth and
dispose of it in any way they see fit is basic to the pursuit of human happiness. This
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