When I was nineteen, I was given a King James version of the Bible that is family sized, and is illustrated by Norman Rockwell. Particularly prominent are the famous Four Freedoms illustrations. The depictions are based on President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms State of the Union speech in January of 1941, which identified four human rights that should be universally protected: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear.

Sheila and I are seeing a client in Portugal this week, and later will be touring in France and England. We hope to visit some of the memorable D Day sights in France. I will also be meeting with the founding partners of Moor Park, which is the European Advisor on the ARC Global REIT. As I ponder the angst and stress of daily headlines on the Ukraine, Iraq, Iran, Syria, China, North Korea, and frankly our political system, The Four Freedoms are very much on my mind.

As we prepare to celebrate the 238th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of our great country, let’s all reflect on our collective role in making sure the Four Freedoms are maintained for our country, and what our obligations are to helping our fellow citizens around the world enjoy those freedoms as well. Despite the controversy over our foreign policy of the last decade, I take comfort in the famous quote by Winston Churchill, “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.” Happy Independence Day….next week!

By Frederick Baerenz
President & CEO