A Man of Peace has Passed

 

by Pa Rock

There have been few people in the history of the world who did more to promote peace, understanding, and basic human rights than former President Jimmy Carter and his equally active and involved wife, Rosalynn.  Rosalynn passed away in November of 2023 at the age of 96, and Jimmy Carter died yesterday at the couple's home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of one hundred.  

The Carters were married for 77 years.  In addition to having the longest marriage of any First Couple in US history, Jimmy Carter is also the only former President of the United States to reach the century mark, something he achieved this past October 1st.  President Carter had been in hospice care since February of 2023, and he had remained alert and communicative throughout that time.  One of the goals that he stated to his family this year was to stay alive long enough to vote for Kamala Harris for President, something which he was able to do.

Jimmy Carter, a former governor of Georgia (and peanut farmer, and Naval submarine officer, and nuclear engineer) was elected President in 1976 by defeating incumbent President Gerald Ford at a time when the nation was still reeling from the Watergate scandals.  After serving only one four-year term and being encumbered by some heavy political obstacles like soaring inflation and gas prices -  and Iran taking 53 Americans hostage for more than a year, Carter lost his bid for re-election to Ronald Reagan.

One of the high points of the single-term Carter administration was that he was able to broker a peace deal at Camp David between Israel and Egypt.  The secret negotiations at the American presidential retreat took twelve days, and the Camp David Accords, as the agreements were known, were signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.  President Carter signed as a witness to the Accords, and they went on to form a long-term basis for peace between the two nations.  Begin and Sadat received the Nobel Peace Prize for their commitment to the process and the deal.

But it was after the Carters left the White House that the couple achieved their greatest humanitarian successes.  Jimmy Carter has been noted by many as the example of the level and kind of public service that a former President could provide.  He and Rosalynn set a very high bar for former First Couples with their efforts to eradicate deadly diseases, end hunger, ensure democracy, and provide affordable housing to those in need.  President and Mrs. Carter were both still working at building 'Habitat for Humanity' houses into their nineties.

Carter said of his faith and how it impacted his dedication to others:

"My faith demands - this is not optional - my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try and make a difference."  

Both Carters lived that creed.  He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 while serving as an extremely active "former" United States President.

Jimmy Carter, even with just one term as President, was one of the central political figures of my lifetime.  He had been elected President just before my middle child, Molly, was born, though he had not yet been inaugurated.  He was President when I began teaching - and a couple of years later when my youngest, Tim, was born.  I also had the privilege of seeing Jimmy Carter in person at a bookstore in Phoenix during President's Day weekend of 2009 where his was signing his latest book:  "We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land."  Carter wrote more than thirty books in his "spare" time after leaving the White House.

Jimmy Carter was a moral and honest individual who never shied away from giving bis time and talents to help others.  The world is a far better place thanks to him and Rosalynn and the countless individuals that they inspired.

May they both be at rest in well-earned peace for lives well lived.