My Creed

by Dean Alfange:

"I do not choose to be a common man or woman. 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 succeed. I will not trade freedom for beneficence, nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master, nor bend to any bully
or terrorist threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid,to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefits of my creations and to face the world boldly, and say, 'This I have done.'"

Poem "My Creed" by Edgar Guest

To live as gently as I can;
To be, no matter where, a man;
To take what comes of good or ill
And cling to faith and honor still;
To do my best, and let that stand
The record of my brain and hand;
And then, should failure come to me,
Still work and hope for victory.

To have no secret place wherein
I stoop unseen to shame or sin;
To be the same when I'm alone
And when my every deed is known;
To live undaunted, unafraid
Of any step that I have made;
To be without pretense or shame
Exactly what men think I am.

To leave some simple mark behind
To keep my having lived in mind;
If enmity to aught I show.
To be an honest, generous foe,
To play my little part, nor whine
That greater honors are not mine.
This, I believe, is all I need
For my philosophy and creed.