A Salute to Jimmy Carter

While not surprising, it still caused me to pause for a breath when I read of the death of James Earl Carter Jr. For so many reasons, he was and will remain a wonderful example of how a public servant should conduct themselves, both in office, and afterwards. 

I have posted a few times under the title Jimmy Carter. Full disclosure, the 1976 presidential election was the first in which I voted, and Carter was the candidate I proudly chose, perhaps not realizing how important a man he would become, but certainly not regretful for choosing him.

The first one was posted in August of 2015 just as the 2016 presidential election cycle was beginning to form. In that post, I compare Carter to the new on the political scene Donald Trump. Here is that link.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2015/08/jimmy-carter-and-Donald-trump.html

The next post occurred in February of last year, when it became known that Carter was in hospice care. In that one, I reflected on the difference in perception of lust, as detailed in Carter's admission to Playboy magazine about "lusting in his heart" and Trump's admission that he had on occasion wandered into the dressing rooms at beauty pageants and grabbed a few young women's genitals. I also apologized for mentioning Trump in a Carter tribute piece, but felt that the example cited clearly indicated the chasm of difference in character between the two men. 

As a side note here, one might wonder just what God those claiming to be American evangelicals worship, given that when Carter ran for re-election they campaigned for Reagan, and, as we all know today, they vote for Trump by around 3 to 1.

Here is a link to that post.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2023/02/jimmy-carter.html

The last time I posted about Carter was upon the death of his dear wife Rosalynn, about 13 months ago. In that post I again mention the all encompassing traits of service and love and kindness that both Rosalynn and Jimmy exuded. I also touch on the idea that Jimmy did hes best to outlive his wife to spare her the pain of life without him by her side, especially considering her dementia diagnosis. Here is a link to that post.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2023/11/rosalynn-and-jimmy.html

I expect that the next few weeks will include many tributes to Jimmy Carter and his life and his example of how a real Christian lives their life. I hope there is a strong emphasis on this concept, how to live a life according to the example of Christ, as I fear we need this comparison even more starkly at this time when those professing the creed, advocate for the most harsh treatment of immigrants and the undocumented, pass laws which punish those who love differently or perceive their gender in a non-traditional way, and discount the utter destruction of life and hope that is occurring in the Middle East as somehow aligned with God's will.

As I said in my very first post about Carter, he will never be lauded as one of the better presidents in our history. Hopefully, however, he will be remembered as one of our very best people, and, even more critically, that there might be a reckoning of just how much more important the latter accolade is as compared to the former.

Rest in peace, James Earl Carter Jr.