In LOVE with Humanity

Hero #030: Jimmy Carter
James Earl ―Jimmy‖ Carter Jr. served as the 39th President of the United States from
1977 to 1981. Carter has remained active in public life during his post-presidency, and in
2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, among other things for his work in co-founding
the Carter Center … While many to this day consider Carter to have been an ineffective
President at best, his four year term contained more than his fair share of enormously
courageous successes – among them his stark opposition of the death penalty, his
championing of women‘s rights, his support for same sex marriage, his pardon of all Vietnam
War conscientious objectors, the formulation of the Department of Energy and the
Department of Education, the facilitation of the Camp David Accords between Israel &
Egypt, the signing of the Panama Canal Treaties, and the establishment of the Strategic Arms
Limitation Talks. Even more importantly, his is the only U.S. presidency to this day to have
never militarily engaged an enemy … While unpopular to much of America at the end of his
term (and unpopular to most of his corrupt political colleagues during the rest of it), Carter presided
over a presidency that strengthened the social fabric of the United States, furthered the
progressive evolution of civil liberties, and enhanced the growth of world peace …
Just as importantly, after leaving the White House, Carter set up the Carter Center in
1982 as his base for advancing human rights. In the many years since, he has traveled
extensively to conduct peace negotiations, observe elections, and advance disease prevention
in developing nations. He is also considered a founding figure in the Habitat for Humanity
project that provides housing for the indigent and the downtrodden. He also remains a
staunch critic of America‘s ongoing wars-for-profit, Israel‘s occupation of Palestine, and the
U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC that has allowed corporations and
millionaires to essentially take over control of the U.S. Congress – going so far as to
publicly state the now obvious truth that the United States is ―no longer a functioning
democracy‖ … In essence, although his presidency received quite the mixed reception, his
peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts since leaving office have made Carter renowned by
many as the most successful (and by far most noble) ex-President in American history.
―We will not learn how to live together in
peace by killing each other's children … In
order for us human beings to commit
ourselves personally to the inhumanity of
war, we find it necessary first to dehumanize
our opponents, which is in itself a violation
of the beliefs of all religions. Once we
characterize our adversaries as beyond the
scope of God's mercy and grace, their lives
lose all value. We deny personal
responsibility when we plant land-mines and,
days or years later, a stranger to us — often
a child – is crippled or killed. From a great
distance, we launch bombs or missiles with
almost total impunity, and never want to
know the number or identity of the victims …
To be true to ourselves, we must first choose
to be true to others.‖ ~ via Jimmy Carter
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