R.I.P. James Earl Carter
mousethief
Shipmate
in Purgatory
Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter passed away today (29 Dec 2024). As a president he did many great things, such as broker the Camp David peace accords, and also made some mistakes, such as his handling of the Iran hostage situation. His presidency can be argued back and forth until breath fails.
It was after he left office that his life became a shining example of service to humankind. As a diplomat and as a commentator on public life, but mostly as a carpenter. He worked for Habitat for Humanity up to nearly a year before his death, building houses for homeless people. Photos of him in overalls wearing a hardhat holding a framer's hammer became a well-known sight.
He was a true gentleman, and a shining example of what a Christian can be. The world is a poorer place without him.
It was after he left office that his life became a shining example of service to humankind. As a diplomat and as a commentator on public life, but mostly as a carpenter. He worked for Habitat for Humanity up to nearly a year before his death, building houses for homeless people. Photos of him in overalls wearing a hardhat holding a framer's hammer became a well-known sight.
He was a true gentleman, and a shining example of what a Christian can be. The world is a poorer place without him.
Comments
My wife does volunteer work at the local Habitat for Humanity Restore Store here. She enjoys it.
While I never worked on a Habitat for Humanity project, I have worked on other projects like HH.
He is such a good example of what it means to be a modern saint, though I am sure he will not be formally canonized by any ecumenical body.
Someone who really showed what it means to be presidential after leaving office.
A succinct and accurate tribute, at least to one looking from the other side of the Pond.
I doubt if the same will be said of the next incumbent.
He was a great man and an example of what a Christian should be as a servant and helper.
Both excellent. Especially the first. He was too good to be president. And not bad enough.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/30/friend-jimmy-carter-remembered-statesmanship-public-service
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/chalk-river-nuclear-accident-1.6293574
The Chalk River incident gets a brief mention in this political biography of Carter from blogger Erik Loomis. Loomis claims Carter's participation in disassembling the reactor "permanently affected his position on nuclear weapons and nuclear power".
The more interesting question for me is how Carter avoided inheriting his father's staunchly segregationist views. Sure, rejecting segregation was part of his faith system, but a lot of southern evangelicals of his era came out of a similar faith system and were quite supportive of segregation.
I think Mr Carter's guardian angel must have been working overtime. Radioactive urine for weeks, the possibility of never being able to father children, and yet the man had 4 kids and lived to be 100 before passing quietly into Death's dream...
Miss Lillian was amazing. A Peace Corps volunteer at 68!
My father's familiy is from the Ottawa Valley, and the Chalk River incident is part of local legend. While I've seen occasional reference to it in literature, I have always een surprised that it was not better known. I am glad that this extraordinary situation is now getting better-known.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L73YhWJn40Y
It wasn't meant to be, but I now see that it sounded that way...
It just tickled my sense of humor to hear you describe it that way.
Perhaps I should have said *...attended by the great and the good. Trump was there, too.*