Rosalynn and Jimmy

It was with great sadness that I received the news that Rosalynn Carter died last week. While never achieving the popularity of Jackie or Michelle, Rosalynn was as avid an advocate for the everyday American citizen as any first lady, especially in the area of access to mental health support. And, of course, along with her husband, she helped create and run the Carter Foundation, as well as working with and expanding the reach of Habitat for Humanity.

Her life story, and Jimmy's as well, demonstrates that success does not preclude service, for both of them placed service above grasping for money or power or influence. Their lives and example are in stark contrast to those we see splayed out on the internet, on Tic Toc, on X, on virtually every media outlet where clicks and hits are far more important that improving the lives of others.

I have written twice in the past about former president Jimmy Carter, but never mentioned Rosalynn in those posts. (See links below).

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

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

Why? Certainly not because Jimmy didn't say over and over again how Rosalynn and her were a team, and that she was an equal partner in all he did. More likely because she stayed in the background, sacrificing any personal acclaim, knowing that Jimmy's success were hers as well. And, of course, like most men, we rarely acknowledge the contributions a wife makes for a successful man. 

Since February when it was announced that Jimmy went into hospice, I thought it gratifying that he was still alive. Once or twice, I even thought it odd that he was still with us, as my own experience with people entering hospice resulted in those loved ones passing fairly quickly. Now, with the passing of his dear wife Rosalynn, I understand why he did not leave us right away. He didn't want her to be alone. 

While Jimmy certainly didn't want to experience life without his beloved wife, he knew it would be harder for her, especially in light of the dementia diagnosis that was just made public. He sacrificed his own upcoming loneliness to spare her from even a second of time without him by her side.

Sacrifice.

It is not a very popular word these days. Not a concept that is taught all that much, nor displayed by our leaders, whether they be political, social or economical. Ask what you can do for your country seems to have been replaced by ask what is in it for me. With the passing of people like Rosalynn Carter, and, with his life partner gone, soon to be Jimmy Carter, our world will have two less examples of what it means to be an elected official, and what it means to be a Christian. 

Sadly, their lives, while they will be remembered, and even praised in the weeks following their passing, will also be forgotten far too soon, and emulated far too in frequently.

They say that talk is cheap, and perhaps so too are the words that have preceded. I am far from selfless, far from having lived my life in the service of others. One might even say that it is worse to know better but not do better, than not to know better at all, and so do worse. 

If, on Judgement Day, there is a simple tally displayed, random acts of kindness on one side of the ledger, acts of cruelty or simple neglect on the other, I have no doubt that Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter's tally will be very one sided, and that they will be welcomed with open arms.

I am less sure about myself, although I have been holding more doors open for those behind me, reaching for groceries for people who find them just out of reach, waving other drivers to go first at intersections with 4-way stop signs, and other such small acts of kindness. 

I know those ticks on the positive side of my ledger are small, but small ticks on the positive are better than no ticks at all. And, like all muscles, as we execute even the smallest of helpful acts, as we work our sacrifice muscle more and more, and as it grows stronger and more confident, bigger and bolder acts of kindness will result, and our ledgers will begin to tilt even more to the plus.

Just imagine how much more peace, how much less suffering there would be if we all began to work on our own ledgers, if we all looked to Rosalynn and Jimmy for how act human, and humane.