By Stephen DeAngelis
President Jimmy Carter was a man of character and arguably the most consequential ex-President of the United States in the 20th and 21st centuries. Reflecting on the life of the late President Jimmy Carter is a refreshing change from today’s political climate. His life was defined by his character. The Carter Center announcement of his passing noted: “Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, died peacefully Sunday, Dec. 29, at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family. He was 100, the longest-lived president in U.S. history.”[1] He was the first president to be inaugurated using a nickname. The late president’s White House biography notes, “Carter, who has rarely used his full name — James Earl Carter, Jr. — was born October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. Peanut farming, talk of politics, and devotion to the Baptist faith were mainstays of his upbringing. Upon graduation in 1946 from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Carter married Rosalynn Smith. The Carters have three sons, John William (Jack), James Earl III (Chip), Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff), and a daughter, Amy Lynn.”[2]
Carter’s rise to the presidency was meteoric. His White House biography explains, “After seven years’ service as a naval officer, Carter returned to Plains. In 1962 he entered state politics, and eight years later he was elected Governor of Georgia. Among the new young southern governors, he attracted attention by emphasizing ecology, efficiency in government, and the removal of racial barriers. Carter announced his candidacy for President in December 1974 and began a two-year campaign that gradually gained momentum. At the Democratic Convention, he was nominated on the first ballot. He chose Senator Walter F. Mondale of Minnesota as his running mate. Carter campaigned hard against President Gerald R. Ford, debating with him three times. Carter won by 297 electoral votes to 241 for Ford.”
His fall from the nation’s highest position was even faster than his rise to it. Journalist Ron Elving explained, “Carter would serve a single tumultuous term in the White House, beset by inflation, energy shortages, intraparty challenges and foreign crises. But he managed to win the nomination for a second term. He lost his bid for reelection to Republican Ronald Reagan in a landslide in 1980.”[3] However, those tumultuous years will not define his legacy. His accomplishments in the years following his term of office will forever mark him as an exceptional human being. As Elving notes, [Following his political career, Carter] worked with Habitat for Humanity and traveled the globe as an indefatigable advocate for peace and human rights. He was given the U.N. Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1998 and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.” Back in 2007, I wrote an article discussing President Carter’s efforts to eliminate river blindness.[4] At the time, President Carter was 82-years-old. Concerning his efforts, journalist Nicholas Kristof wrote, “Former President Carter … is leading a private war on disease that should inspire … other world leaders into joining. … Mr. Carter is also rehabilitating the image of the U.S. abroad and transforming the lives of the world’s most wretched peoples.”[5] Kristof also noted that Carter was trying to reduce or eliminate the devastating effects of malaria and elephantiasis. It was President Carter’s devotion to such efforts that convinced the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award him the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002. The Committee’s press release stated:
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002 to Jimmy Carter, for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development. During his presidency (1977-1981), Carter’s mediation was a vital contribution to the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, in itself a great enough achievement to qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize. At a time when the cold war between East and West was still predominant, he placed renewed emphasis on the place of human rights in international politics. Through his Carter Center, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2002, Carter has since his presidency undertaken very extensive and persevering conflict resolution on several continents. He has shown outstanding commitment to human rights, and has served as an observer at countless elections all over the world. He has worked hard on many fronts to fight tropical diseases and to bring about growth and progress in developing countries. Carter has thus been active in several of the problem areas that have figured prominently in the over one hundred years of Peace Prize history. In a situation currently marked by threats of the use of power, Carter has stood by the principles that conflicts must as far as possible be resolved through mediation and international co-operation based on international law, respect for human rights, and economic development.”[6]
The Carter Center has now been operating 42 years and is still making a difference in the world. One of Enterra Solutions’ board members, Benn Konsynski, the George S. Craft Distinguished University Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, is intimately familiar with the Center’s good works. He was a Hewlett Fellow at the Carter Center. President Carter’s efforts to make the world a better place demonstrates the influence one man can have. I find his example inspiring. The late playwright Neil Simon once wrote, “Don’t listen to those who say, you are taking too big a chance. Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor, and it would surely be rubbed out by today. Most important, don’t listen when the little voice of fear inside you rears its ugly head and says, ‘They are all smarter than you out there. They’re more talented, they’re taller, blonder, prettier, luckier, and they have connections.’ I firmly believe that if you follow a path that interests you, not to the exclusion of love, sensitivity, and cooperation with others, but with the strength of conviction that you can move others by your own efforts, and do not make success or failure the criteria by which you live, the chances are you’ll be a person worthy of your own respects.” I think that sums up the life of Jimmy Carter pretty well.
President Carter’s lifetime devotion to his wife and to helping others are fundamental tenets of his well-deserved legacy. As the Washington Post reported, “Jimmy Carter’s simple and modest lifestyle was rare. … He declined the corporate board memberships and lucrative speaking engagements, and decided that his income would come from writing. He wrote 33 books and helped renovate 4,300 homes for Habitat for Humanity. … Rosalynn Carter, a close political and policy adviser to her husband, died Nov. 19, 2023. The Carters were married for more than 77 years, the longest presidential marriage in U.S. history. Their love story blossomed in World War II and survived the searing scrutiny of political life.”[7] You don’t have to agree with his political positions to admire and respect the man. After 100 well-lived years, President Carter certainly deserves to rest in peace.
Footnotes
[1] Staff, “Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter Passes Away at 100,” The Carter Center, 29 December 2024.
[2] Staff, “James Carter,” The White House.
[3] Ron Elving, “Carter’s single White House term still stirs controversy after more than 40 years,” NPR, 29 December 2024.
[4] Stephen DeAngelis, “Carter’s War on Worms,” Enterra Insights, 1 March 2007.
[5] Nicholas Kristof, “Let’s Start a War, One We Can Win,” The New York Times, 20 February 2007.
[6] Norwegian Nobel Committee, “The Nobel Peace Prize 2002,” Press Release, 11 October 2002.
[7] Leo Sands, “11 facts about Jimmy Carter that may surprise you,” The Washington Post, 29 December 2024.
