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 open opposition of the death penalty, his open support for 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), Jimmy 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 … 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 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 he left office have made Carter renowned by many as the most successful (and 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

Filed under: In LOVE with Humanity by Scaughdt