Since the beginning of this year, I have been thinking about the life and impact of Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States.
A Man of Great Moral and Ethical Character
Former President Carter died on December 29, 2024, at the ripe age of 100. His funeral brought together all the living former presidents to honor his life and contributions. I watched the proceedings of his funeral, and one thing stood out: Jimmy Carter was a man of fantastic moral and ethical character, admirable traits that seem to be absent in our political discourse of today.
During his funeral proceedings, many people commented Jimmy Carter was more effective in his post-presidency than during the time he served. He was highly criticized for “being held hostage” in the White House when American Diplomats were hostages in Iran. It was reported he did not actively go out and campaign for his second term, because he was focused on the pressing issues he was dealing with during his presidency. His famous speech on the topic of a “Crisis of Confidence” talked about important things Americans needed to do to prepare for the future. It wasn’t all rosy, and he intended to send the message to Americans that we had to “tighten our belts.” This talk, however, was met with widespread disapproval.
While many of the actions above didn’t help him in leading the country, I appreciate his intentions.
“Remember Where You Come From”
In the tributes given, I was reminded of something my mom used to repeat to my siblings and me when we were kids: “remember where you come from.” What I loved about Jimmy Carter were the stories about how he was the same person at the family dinner table as he was with diplomats.
Few people have come close to resolving tensions in the Middle East as Jimmy Carter, and he was ahead of his time in installing solar panels in the White House.
Among the aspects I admire most about him was his overwhelming commitment to his wife of 77 years and his family.
A Promise To Tell The Truth
My wife, Lisa, commented to me as I watched the funeral, “You must have really loved him.” She knows I care a lot about truth and honesty, and President Carter promised this in his campaign run and worked to stay true to that promise throughout.
I have watched his work from a distance with Habitat for Humanity and other humanitarian work he has done, but I did not know the extent of his influence. In the tribute below, which is approximately 12 minutes, Jimmy Carter’s grandson talks about the man he was in a very moving eulogy. He describes the importance of people-to-people communications in solving critical issues, like the way he solved the Guinea-worm disease throughout Africa.
When I think about people who inspire me, Jimmy Carter tops the list. He embodies the traits, values and character in people who define a world in which I want to live. I am hopeful in the future we can celebrate more people like Jimmy Carter when they are alive and hold them up as models for modern-day leadership.
If you have a moment, this tribute is worth watching.
Have a great month ahead.
Scott, Like you, I was glued to President Carter’s funeral proceedings. Also, like you, watching it I was struck by his honesty and stellar integrity. He lived and led remembering where he came from. Your mom was wise.
Scott, I love this Monday morning Mojo of Jimmy Carter. I had to watch the televised funeral and the comments of family and friends truth and honesty were his motto, and in my lifetime I’ve always felt the same.
I like that you emphasize truth and honesty and this is super rare especially among top politicians. So, Carter obviously must have been playing in a different league from those running world business these days .
As your mojo is not only a therapeutic self reflection 🙂 but also opinion sharing and making I look with great tension and fear at nowadays voices that are raised either through social media like you do or through other means . I wonder if we should shout out more and brainwash ourselves the minds of so many others rather than letting sick brains taking this role and thus poison even more those who have not learned to think….
What strikes me too is that a large group of people claims to possess the holy grail of honesty and their (!) truth.
But for decades and centuries the truth has been used for greed , selfishness , discrimination and cheating , sometimes straight forward and obvious and many times hidden and sneaky .
I love what you do and your mojo is a good thing although I wonder how much one can start publicly writing about topics that don’t touch problems explicitly but mention them indirectly . On the other hand your way of writing is also the positive one and the healing one I would say. But who will work on opening people’s eyes ? Probably not the ant army of the murdoch’s or similar ones around the world . Who will work on reminding people not to repeat mistakes , covid was a repeated thing and yet many were ignoring and neglecting , today we see politics reminding of those 100 years ago in Europe , and yet people ignore , today we see genocides reminding of those that happened in the last 3 centuries and yet people ignore or close the eyes , human nature is like this until one individual himself feels the agony , the pain, the horror and the helplessness. As long humans just read about it and watch tv , they don’t care. I know this is all a little far off from your mojos so far but I felt I need to trigger thoughts . And to let you know I am your brother in this fight for the good and the believe in the good. Especially the last 2 years have been hard for your mind and soul to see so much idiocy, hypocrisy, neo colonialism , fascism , slaughter , division and hate , paired with ignorance , lack of knowledge and stupidity . And so it was to for me too.
Let’s save the world , we can do a tiny bit for this , by spreading love and tolerance , and by condemning greed and selfishness .