I first ran across the quote in an online publication, in which the editor (a textual critic himself) expressed bewilderment as to which of the two versions most commonly found might be the original.
I give first of all the shortest version of the text, as published in the Readers Digest of October 1952 and republished in the January 1954 number.
"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 stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence [n]or my dignity for a handout. It is my heritage to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations, and to face the world boldly and say, this I have done. All this is what it means to be an American."
And here is the longest version, printed (as reported on the internet by the owner of the 'manuscript') on the back of an entry ticket to the Flying W Ranch in 1968 (plusses in bold):
“I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon. I seek opportunity to develop whatever talents God gave me – 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 stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficience nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any earthly master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations, and to face the world boldly and say – ‘This, with God’s help, I have done.’ All this is what it means to be an American.”
Now, were we to use the "lectio brevior potior" approach to textual criticism, the "oldest and best" reading would be that found in the Reader's Digest. But there's a problem with that approach that will be obvious to anyone familiar with the publication aims of the Reader's Digest: they deliberately shorten pieces of literature in order to make them more available to the busy reader. Thus it's inconceivable that the Readers' Digest version, being the shortest, would most accurately reflect the original.
Next, we look at the possibility that the text has undergone Orthodox Corruption. Note that all references to God are in the expanded version. Is it more likely that Orthodox scribes have deleted this material, or added it? To answer this question, we should probably find out a bit about the author, Dean Alfange Sr.
A published biography reads as follows:
Dean Alfange was born in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) of Greek parents, December 2, 1897. His family migrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York, when he was very young. He attended Hamilton College where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1922. Later he attended Columbia University Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1925.Alfange's interests led him to pursue a career in politics as well as law. He was also deeply involved with the Order of Ahepa, a Greek-American cultural organization, acting as its national president from 1927-1929. He ran for New York State Governor on the American Labor Party ticket in 1942 against Thomas E. Dewey and was a strong advocate of the New Deal and a great admirer of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
During World War II he was the Vice-Chairman of the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe. He made speeches for aid to the Jews against the Nazis, and at a hearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives submitted a plan to save the Jews in Europe. After World War II he became chairman of the Committee to Arm the Jewish State, a group aimed at lifting the arms embargo on Palestine.
He was instrumental in the formation of the Liberal Party in 1944 when the American Labor Party split between pro-communist and anti-communist factions. Alfange held nominations or appointments from Democrats and Republicans as well as the Liberal and American Labor Party. As early as 1954 he expressed opposition to the American policy of military aid to the French government in Indochina, his position being one based on anti-colonialism. This position continued throughout America's involvement in the Vietnam Conflict.
Other positions held by Alfange were: Deputy Attorney General of New York State, Trustee of the Fashion Institute of Technology and New York State Quarter-Horse Racing Commissioner. Among his awards are the Freedom Foundation Award (1952) for his composition “My Creed” (included in Box 5, folder 3) and the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Award for his book The Supreme Court and the National Will (1937).
He died in New York City on October 24, 1989 at age 91.
Well, there you have it. Just in writing this piece, Alfange was expressing opinions very much out of synch with the political circles in which he moved. But is he likely to have included references to God, which his admirers edited out? It is highly unlikely for either to have happened. Alfange's interests seem to be totally secular, and his followers were unlikely to even share such sentiments as are expressed here, much less republish them. No, far more likely that people from the other edge of the political spectrum picked up the quotation and 'improved' it a little. Remember, this was the very time-frame in which "under God" was added to the American Pledge of Allegiance.
Well, there is one more main edition of this text to consider--leaving aside such spurious editions as the one falsely attributed to Thomas Paine and ending, "This, with God's help, I have done. All this is what it means to be an Entrepreneur." This edition has what we could call Early Patristic Support, and I give it in the context in which it was published--as a comment on the very web page where the aforementioned spurious text is found (plusses in bold):
"Although this work is certainly appropriate for the entrepreneur, it is not from Common Sense nor was it written by Thomas Paine. It was written by Dr. Dean Alfange, a Greek immigrant, who at one point ran for Governor of New York. He died in 1989. He titled the piece: MY CREED. I know this because a few years ag[o] I spoke with his son Dean Alfange Jr. to get permission to print and market this work. Below I have include the work as he wrote it." --Al Zapata
MY CREED by Dean Alfange
"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 stale 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. All this is what it means to be an American."
So. Neither the shortest, nor the longest, nor the oldest extant text (on the internet) is the most accurate. The singlemost accurate copy of the text has been tampered with in both ways--both by addition, and by subtraction. But it was, in its entirety, passed on correctly by those most interested in transmitting it exactly as it came from the author.
Should this surprise anyone?
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