The funeral events for former President Jimmy Carter — who died Dec. 29th at the age of 100 — start today.
The “celebration of life” should continue for generations.
Because while his one-term presidency is largely regarded as ineffective, those four years don’t define him.
What should resonate is the way he lived his other 96 years, especially the 44 that followed his Presidential term. He helped cure diseases, helped make elections work, got on roofs and hammered and nailed, lived a 77-year marriage with Rosalynn that ended with her death in 2023 and taught a Sunday school class in Plains, Ga.
From Mark Whicker’s The Morning After Substack post about President Carter
Let’s talk about that “cure diseases” part.
Three and a half million Africans were affected, hospitalized or killed by the Guinea worm in 1987. By 2023 there were 15 cases, total. Carter called it the most rewarding accomplishment of his life, and so was his work to minimize river blindness. He always found affairs of the soil more rewarding than pavement.
from the same post as above
Now let’s talk about those roofs, hammers, and nails.
The Carters demonstrated their commitment to social justice and basic human rights over and over again during their time in the White House. Their resolve only persisted since moving on, most notably through the Carter Center in Atlanta. They also worked on numerous Habitat builds both in the United States and around the world alongside passionate volunteers just like you.
From the Habitat for Humanity website
Carter also brokered the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel that still stands today.
And lest we forget, the peanut farmer from Georgia also was way ahead of his time in encouraging the adoption of renewable energy sources.
On June 20, 1979, the Carter administration installed 32 panels designed to harvest the sun’s rays and use them to heat water.
Here is what Carter predicted at the dedication ceremony: “In the year 2000 this solar water heater behind me, which is being dedicated today, will still be here supplying cheap, efficient energy…. A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.”
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/carter-white-house-solar-panel-array/
Would that we had listened to Jimmy. We’d be a lot better off today.
The Carter administration set a goal of deriving 20 percent of U.S. energy needs from such renewable sources by the turn of the century…
By 1986, the Reagan administration had gutted the research and development budgets for renewable energy at the then-fledgling U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and eliminated tax breaks for the deployment of wind turbines and solar technologies—recommitting the nation to reliance on cheap but polluting fossil fuels, often from foreign suppliers.
Yep, Ronald Reagan, the guy who trounced Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election. He’s the former President who has a D.C. airport named after him, as well as countless schools, highways and streets.
The same Reagan who supercharged economic inequality in the U.S.
Reagan’s policies also widened the racial wealth gap.
The history is clear: so-long as the basic architecture of Reagan’s economic vision — lower taxes on the wealthy, less regulation, less unionization — remains in place, closing the racial wealth gap will be hard.
Source: https://time.com/6334291/racial-wealth-gap-reagan-history/
BTW, ol’ Ronnie also had the solar panels taken down in 1986, even though they were working fine.
Curing disease. Providing a pathway to homeownership. Being an advocate for fair elections across the globe. Encouraging the use of renewable energy. Being a devoted husband for 77 years. Teaching Sunday school.
Or, helping the rich get richer at the expense of a social safety net.
Reagan’s tax changes had significant effects, increasing economic inequality across all metrics. These effects
have continued to the present day, because Reagan’s tax changes have not come close to being counteracted.Source: https://www.buacademy.org/files/2022/04/Kirwin-Liam-Abstract.pdf
Which legacy would you rather have?
You done said…