As I reflected upon contemporary events, sifting through the corridors of my mind for a suitable topic du jour, a couple of mega (not MAGA) matters landed on my radar.
Monday was January 6th. As American History continues to unfold, chances are that date will be as resonant and memorable for our fellow citizens as December 7th. In 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor represented the fiercest attack ever on America, the institution, from external forces. Arguably, on January 6, 2021, the attack on the Capitol represented the fiercest attack ever on America, the institution, from internal forces…at least aside from the Civil War. In fact, even during the hostilities of the Civil War, no factions breached the walls of the Capitol.
While Vice President Harris returned the Certification of Electoral Votes to it’s normal perfunctory status, on Monday, with little or no fanfare, the collective media sphere did make note of it, because of course, last time, the Certification was interrupted by gallows on the grounds of the Capitol threatening the life of the then Vice President, a horde breaking windows, and crashing doors, running through the building with Confederate Flags, giving chase to government officials, while trashing the building, attacking law enforcement officers with bear spray, defacing Congressional offices, and smearing fecal matter on the walls. There are those who argue that Trump contributed to, if not caused that version of American carnage. Tempting as it is, that is not the topic I chose for today.
Familiarly known as Jimmy, James Earl Carter, Jr. was our nation’s 39th President. He served one term, having been elected November 2, 1976, defeating President Gerald Ford, and losing four years later, on November 4, 1980, to Ronald Reagan. Carter had a term filled with a vast array of challenges, including the Iran hostage crisis, rampant inflation, unrest in the Middle East, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a gasoline shortage due to production declines, massive gasoline price hikes, and resulting rampant inflation, along with rising unemployment. It may not have been the worst Presidential tenure; Hoover bore the brunt of the Great Depression. It was, however, bad enough to seal Carter’s fate as a one-term President.
While there are those, especially Republicans, who label Carter the worst-ever U.S. President, just as many view the arch of Carter legacy as being so much more than his presidency. President Carter who passed away Sunday before last at 100 years old was the oldest former President, and the first to reach the century mark.
Carter, the classic anti-establishmentarian as president, came to Washington in the wake of the Nixon-Watergate scandal with the stated mission of disassembling the Washington establishment. In contemporary parlance, one might say, he aimed to drain the swamp. In assembling his Cabinet, he sought and relied upon several smart people with one glaring deficiency: experience in navigating the Washington’s massive and complex bureaucracy. The peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia packed up his bags after one term, and took what to some, was a surprising route. He returned to his roots in Plains. After having been crushed by Reagan in the 1980 Election, Carter exclaimed that he would pattern his post-presidency after Harry Truman and not endeavor to personally enrich himself.
To that end, Carter turned to statecraft and made diplomacy one of his calling cards. Quickly, he made his mark in the Middle East by meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1981, and touring Egypt in 1983, as well as meeting with the Palestine Liberation Organization. These initiatives expanded the upon the work that he’d begun while President, with the Camp David Summit and Accords.
In 1994, President Clinton enlisted Carter’s assistance in a North Korea peace mission. Carter negotiated an understanding with Kim II Sung. Carter would later announce the outline of a treaty with Kim on CNN, without having the Clinton Administration’s consent to spur action.
In March 1999Carter met with Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui. He praised the progress Taiwan made in democracy, human rights, economy, culture, science and technology. Carter, however, remained controversial in Taiwan due to having ended U.S. with the country.
In addition, Carter championed a plan to hold elections in Venezuela in 2003 (though the country didn’t get it done), in 2006 he stated his disagreements with Israeli domestic and foreign policy while saying he supported the country. Meanwhile, he extended his criticism to Israel’s policies in Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza, in 2007, Carter joined Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa, to announce his participation in The Elders, a group of independent global leaders working together on peace and human rights issues, he visited Darfur, Sudan, Cypress, the Korean Peninsula, and the Middle East. He attempted to travel to Zimbabwe, but he was prevented from doing so by President Robert Mugabe’s government. In 2008, he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in 2010, Carter traveled to North Korea and negotiated the release of Aijalon Gomes, in 2012, he stressed that Egyptian military generals could take full executive and legislative power to form a new constitution, in 2017, he to the Trump Administration to be a diplomatic envoy to North Korea, and in 2018, official files revealed that in 1993, Carter had suggested a Northern Ireland peace process role by President-Elect Bill Clinton.
Lest one be deluded into thinking Carter was a one-trick pony, his peanut farm had amassed $1 million in debt when he left office in 1981. He began writing books to retire the debt, and by 2019, he’d written over 30 books, including best sellers, covering a variety of topics, including a novel, a children’s book, reflections on his presidency.
In 1982, Carter founded the Carter Center, a non-governmental and nonprofit organization designed to advance human rights and alleviate suffering. He worked with the World Health Organization to eradicate dracunculiasis, also called Guinea worm disease. The incidence decreased from 3.5 million cases in the mid-1980’s to 25 cases in 2016, and four in the first seven months of 2024.
Jimmy Carter, and his wife and life partner Rosalynn, were involved in many endeavors after his presidency, but none were more notably connected to the Georgia native than Habitat for Humanity. The Carters initiated the Carter Work Project in 1984, Over the past 40 years, the former President and his work has touched lives around the world. The Carter’s examples have rallied volunteers, supporters, and celebrities to take part in the mission of helping Habitat for Humanity become internationally recognized for building decent and affordable housing. The Carters touched the lives of thousands of Habitat homeowners and volunteers, and inspired millions across the globe. The Carter Work Project has had more than 108,000 volunteers in 14 countries and built 4,447 homes.
Of course, there is more that can be said about a man who lived a century. He was the first American President born in a hospital, grew up in a town populated almost exclusively by Black people, played high school basketball, attended Georgia Southwestern College and Georgia Institute of Technology before matriculating and graduating from the Naval Academy, married Rosalynn (a high school valedictorian) after college, and played sprint football, and ran cross country at the Naval Academy, and worked in the Navy’s nuclear engineering program. In summary, Jimmy Carter was a Renaissance Man. Peaceful transition…”James Earl Carter, Jr.: Centenarian!”
I’m done; holla back!
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter
https://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2025/01/james-earl-carter-jr-centenarian.html
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