I do not choose to be a common man.
It is my right to be uncommon - if I can.
I seek opportunity, 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 still calm of utopia.
I will not trade freedom for beneficence
nor my dignity for a handout.
I will never cower before any master
nor bend to any threat.
It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid;
to think and act for myself,
enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly
and say, this I have done.
My Creed by Dean Alfange
The Honorable Dean Alfange was an American statesman born December 2, 1899, in Constantinople (now Istanbul). He served in the U.S. Army during World War I and attended Hamilton College, graduating in the class of ’22. Hamilton offers the “Dean Alfange Essay Prizes” established by Dean Alfange and awarded to the students who write the best and second-best essays on a feature or an issue of American constitutional government.
Alfange was the American Labor candidate for governor of New York and a founder of the Liberal Party of New York.
