American Exceptionalism

By Carter LeCraw, CEO

America is exceptional. But, what does that mean? And, what will it take for America to remain an exceptional country? I would submit there are three characteristics that embody the exceptionalism that is America: virtue, freedom and prosperity.

The first and foundational quality of American exceptionalism is virtue, without which, the other two, freedom and true prosperity, are not possible. As Benjamin Franklin said, “only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.” Defining virtue must come from outside ourselves, so it is ultimately a religious question. For 250 years, the values that comprise virtue have been those enumerated and explained in the Bible. Of course, this supposition is challenged by some and must be defended by patriotic citizens who understand this critical connection. Again, the first component of exceptionalism is virtue.

We must be ever vigilant to not only defend, but advance, with God’s help, the timeless values that made America good and therefore great.
Carter LeCraw, CEO

The second quality of exceptionalism is freedom which is constantly under pressure. Skeptics argue that there is not be enough virtue to sustain freedom in America. In essence, they believe virtue must be forced upon us by government intervention in the form of socialism. But, forced virtue is not real virtue. The more genuinely virtuous we are, that is being virtuous on our own initiative, the less laws are needed and the more freedom we get.

The third and final quality of exceptionalism is prosperity which is merely the logical result of the combination of the first two components, virtue and freedom. True prosperity, though, is not just economic growth. For instance, the growth of companies that peddle harmful products or services is not genuine prosperity. On the other hand, companies that go above and beyond to serve their customers, employees and communities with life-enhancing products and services DOES reflect true prosperity.

Thankfully, the three vital components; virtue, freedom and prosperity are present in sufficient quantity today to produce an exceptional America. But, what about the future? The answer is not easy but simple: we must be ever vigilant to not only defend, but advance, with God’s help, the timeless values that made America good and therefore great. It is why we, here at American Values Investments, are focused on providing concerned Americans opportunities to invest in companies that best reflect the values make freedom, prosperity and ultimately American exceptionalism, possible.

Of course investments in the stock market involve risk and past performance is no assurance of future results. More disclosure information is available in our ADV part 2, which is available upon request.

Take the first step towards using your investments to uphold American exceptionalism.

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