Jimmy Carter was such a good man. I teared up when I watched the horse drawn procession to the Rotunda and the state funeral. He was the first president I was able to vote for. It seems like such an irony to bury a president whose life was about serving others while electing one who serves himself.
How could we go from electing a leader who, after his presidency, still lived in a “modest” four-bedroom home to someone who lives in a 126-room, 62,500-square-foot mansion, which is just one of his properties? How can we go from a man who, when needing to make an important decision, takes a walk to have some private time to reflect and listen to his inner wisdom, to a man who fires anyone around him who doesn’t agree with his impulsive behavior?
I really want to believe that we all have the same needs; we just have different strategies to get there. I try to understand the reasoning behind those who voted for the 47th president. I often hear it is about policies not the person.
However, I want to be a citizen of a country that values personal character rather than public reputation. Which brings me to my quotes:
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. ~Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. president
Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. ~ Lois McMaster Bujold, speculative fiction writer
Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. ~Rick Warren, Christian pastor
Six essential qualities that are the key to success: Sincerity, personal integrity, humility, courtesy, wisdom, charity. ~ William Menninger, psychiatrist
The widening of our circles of inclusion is a profound spiritual task that is at the core of what it means to be a social human being. ~Richard Doughty, Aramco Mag. Editor
I was brought up, in a non-religious family, in Kansas—the bible belt. That experience taught me to know a person by what they do as well as what they say.
The first week after moving from Detroit, Michigan, when I was ten, I came home from school and asked my mom, “Am I a Methodist?”
“No dear,” she answered.
“Am I a Pre-Pre-Presbyterian?”
“No dear.”
“Oh no, does that mean I’m a Baptist!”
It seemed that the most important thing for my classmates to know about me was which church I belonged to. (FYI: My mom said if I was ever asked that again, I could say, “I’m a free spirit.”)
I had many negative experiences with people who were Christian in name only. A neighbor invited me to go to her summer bible camp. She was older, and I was honored that she wanted me to go to her camp. I went, and found it boring. We couldn’t even color the pictures of Jesus the way we wanted to—they gave us stickers and dotted lines telling us where to put them. We couldn’t ask questions, or at least my questions. I was told not to question. The final insult was when I found out that my friend had asked me to attend just so she could win the free bible for recruiting the most people to camp.
When I went to a teenage bible meeting, I learned it was just an excuse for the kids to get away from home to make out and smoke cigarettes.
A high school classmate was friendly with me for several weeks, until one day she asked me to go to church with her. I told her that I wasn’t a Christian. She told me that she couldn’t be my friend then. It seemed the only reason she was being nice was to get me to go to her church. (Probably another free bible was on the line.)
I don’t want to bore you with all of the negative experiences I had with people who called themselves Christian. I think those examples are enough.
My early experiences taught me that words are manipulative and actions show the true character. That’s why I love Jimmy Carter. He uncovered a prejudice of mine. He showed me that a Christian can be someone who speaks and acts by their faith.
He was a president for the people. He was a humanitarian, an environmentalist, a negotiator. He felt he had enough and wanted to give to others.
In 1986 when he started the Global Guinea Worm Eradication Program the disease had infected 3.5 million people across Africa and Asia. By 2022, only 13 cases were reported worldwide. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of work on finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts.
He and his wife, Rosalyn volunteered with Habitat for Humanity which builds and renovates homes for those in need.* The bi-line on the website: “Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.” What I want to stress is that his actions were in step with his morals.
One of my favorite stories is when he was helping with a Habitat for Humanity event, he gave up his and Rosalynn’s private room and slept on the church floor with the other volunteers so a newly-wed couple, who hadn’t had their honeymoon yet, could have the room.
With all that is happening in Los Angeles right now, we need more people like Carter. Those who roll up their sleeves to help others, not play the blame game.
I still cry when I think of President Carter. I cry because of all the good deeds he did, because he showed me what it means to be a humanitarian, because the highest office in our land is going to someone who spends his time blaming and spreading false narratives. I cry because with all that I have, I still feel that I don’t have enough to help.
I try to remember that we all help in the ways we can. Having a party to spread some joy and connect people, playing music, teaching, creating jewelry, and staying in touch with friends who are sick or housebound are the ways that I am capable of helping.
We can always do more. I can do more. But first I need to acknowledging that the ways I spread joy and connection is one small way of being a humanitarian. I am taking care of and supporting myself. And when I feel supported, I have more energy to support others.
*(You can read more at: www.cartercenter.org)