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Responsibility 911

Carter LeCraw, CEO

     The Statue of Liberty stands in New York harbor as a constant reminder of the cherished ideal of Freedom. Almost all Americans would verbally defend this God-given right and many would be willing, as many already have, to give their lives to protect it. (I have a special affinity for those in the armed services since I served four years in the United States Navy.)

     What’s missing, though, is a corresponding fervor to promote a key principle which, when regularly exercised by individual Americans strengthens the concepts of Liberty and Freedom. It’s probably not too hard to guess from the title that it is, yes, … Responsibility.

     Personally, I would rather go play a round of golf, or eat an ice cream cone (Vanilla Bean or Rocky Road, please) than contemplate this concept for any extended period of time. But, alas, exercising responsibility is vitally important to us as individuals, as a nation, … and as investors. Furthermore, there is now, a “courageous” organization that has “taken on the responsibility for promoting Responsibility”.

     The Statue of Responsibility Foundation (SORF) is attempting to bring to reality the almost mind-boggling dream of Dr. Viktor Frankl, a famous holocaust survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning who said, “Freedom is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. The positive aspect of freedom is responsibility. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast of the United States be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.”

     What a wonderful project for Americans everywhere to encourage and support. It certainly challenges me to be more responsible with my time, my talents … and my treasure. Many of our country’s and the world’s influential leaders have alluded to the importance of applying responsibility to the privilege of freedom. Benjamin Franklin said, “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” I believe Ronald Reagan knew how important Biblical principles, many of which involve personal responsibility, were to Freedom when he said, “Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged”, and Winston Churchill said it pointedly, “The price of greatness is responsibility”.

     I admire and support the Statue of Responsibility Foundation and its ambitious goal to actually, can you believe it, BUILD a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast. Responsibility is, indeed, an extremely important concept as it applies to how we use our freedoms. Furthermore, because investment capital is so powerful, responsibility is critical in how we deploy it. Interestingly, many years ago a term emerged that would describe the responsible use of investment capital. That term, “Socially Responsible Investing”, often referred to as SRI, had many of its roots in the Christian faith. Some believe John Wesley’s sermon in the 1700’s entitled “The Use of Money” was one of the original “seeds” of the modern day Socially Responsible Investing industry. Our firm’s investment strategy, we are now calling “Values-First Investing” is one of many forms of SRI.

    A major fundraising project for the Statue of Responsibility has been the creation and recent release of a book entitled Responsibility 911. There are 56 chapters about various aspects of responsibility, many of which, have been contributed by well-know (except for at least one author of whom you will find out about later) people. Authors include, Desmond Tutu, Christopher Reeve, Pope John Paul II, Tom Peters, John McCain, Barrack Obama, Norman Schwartzkopf, J.W. Marriott, and even our current President, George Bush.

    Here’s the exciting part, and how this project relates to our investment strategy at American Values. About two years ago I called to find out more about this inspiring “Statue building” project and was privileged to speak with the executive director, Daniel Bolz. He told me more and then, politely, asked about my work. I briefly told him about our form of socially responsible investing which we then called “Values-Driven Investing” (and are now calling “Values-First Investing”) which targets stocks of companies that best reflect authentic American values. After hearing our story he asked me to write one of the chapters for the new book, Responsibility 911! Obviously, I was quite excited about the prospect and, in understandably quick fashion, sent two articles I had written. He liked them both and asked me to combine them into one piece which was eventually accepted as a chapter in the book. Later, they edited out some chapters, but, fortunately, ours remained.

     It is truly an honor to be included in a book with such well-know authors, but what it really speaks to is the importance of our mission here at American Values. Our chapter is now there to encourage investors all across America to align their investments with their values as a way of positively affecting our culture.

     It’s hard to imagine us being invited to contribute to this inspiring book and project were it not for our clients. Your valued and important investment accounts, now totaling approximately 50 million, have given us a platform to speak out about the importance of “Values-First Investing”. For this we offer our heartfelt, “Thank you!” Furthermore, be encouraged … together we are making a difference.

Note: The book, Responsibility 911 can be ordered through the Statue of Responsibility’s website, www.sorfoundation.org. Proceeds will go toward building the Statue of Responsibility. By the way, ours is the 46th chapter, entitled, “Values-Driven Investing”.