Today is the 95th Birthday of President Jimmy Carter. He has to be one of the greatest ‘losers’ of our time. He was President of the United States of America for one term, from 1977 to 1980, and led his nation to confront many of the issues with which it is still not dealing—perhaps most notably energy policy and its relationship with Iran.
Carter’s Presidency was destroyed by the betrayal of the Evangelicals, who had supported him because he was one of theirs, but chose to shift support to the Republican Party in the first big push of the ‘Religious Right’. They wanted a President who would press the Supreme Court to undo the famous Roe v Wade decision ‘permitting’ abortion as a woman’s right to choose. Reagan, Bush and then Bush 11 were elected with this support but did not deliver that result. The current President has done the job on the Court. We wait to see what they will do to abortion law.
For his part, Carter is undoubtedly the greatest living ex-President, who has used his time since 1980—that’s 39 years—for unstinting service to humanity and the environment. He was already famous for his commitment to Habitat for Humanity. He has gone on serving peace-making, justice-making and humanitarian causes, despite illness and advancing frailty.
I was privileged to hear him speak in 2005. What is so clear is the genuineness of his personal ethics and social vision. He speaks with a critical self-awareness, with wit and insight, and a delightfully clear under-statement in his criticisms of his successors.
He is an active Christian. That means much more than his famed teaching of a ‘Sunday School’ class in his local church. No, much more important is his advocacy for women’s ordination and for environmental justice.
Carter once wrote of his commitment to excellence. An anecdote he told related to his training as a naval officer. When asked by a superior where he had come in his class, Carter proudly nominated his high ranking. The officer took no noice of that, but rather asked: But did you do your best?’ That challenge has shaped his life.
Jimmy Carter lost an election and the whole world has gained a great man who has done so much with his time and opportunities. A biography uses the image of ‘Redeemer’—Redeemer: the life of Jimmy Carter, by Randall Balmer. It’s a really good book and genuinely asks whether Carter has spent much of his time trying to ‘redeem’ some earlier failures. It’s a good question. I think we may all do that, in various ways. Our motives for good are always in some degree self-focussed as well. Still, with that awareness we try to do the best we can for the greatest good, with whatever skills and opportunities we have been given. Jimmy Carter has done all this in truckloads.
A number of posts on Facebook today celebrate his birthday, his life, his faith and all he has done since ‘losing’.
I honour President Carter and thank God for his life and his service to us all.