Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. was a Georgian and a Sunday School Teacher. That says something about the essence of the man. But that’s not all. When I think of Mr. Carter, I think of what I believe to be fundamental goodness.
Jimmy Carter was reliably and consistently a man of truth and honor; a man of fidelity, loyalty to what was truly worth being loyal to: his family (most visible to the public his wife, partner, love of a lifetime Rosalynn), his country, principles a shared humanity, peace, stewardship of the Earth.
World Affairs: West Asia, Red Sea, Mediterranean Regions
In world affairs, Jimmy Carter stood virtually alone in declaring (in writing and in public speeches) that the Israeli enterprise is “an apartheid” regime. While acknowledging “a ‘deep religious interest in the Holy Land,’” Mr. Carter visited the region during and after his presidency, and “never abandoned the cause of peace,” Yvonne Ridley reports. These singular acts and convictions, in her view, “will be the legacy” of America’s thirty-ninth president. (Ridley, Yvonne. OPINION Middle East Monitor February 20, 2023. “Jimmy Carter: the first (and only) US president to identify Israeli apartheid.” https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230220-jimmy-carter-the-first-and-only-us-president-to-identify-israeli-apartheid/)
Forty-seven Years Ago
For the Homeland and the World
A Plea to Conserve
Domestically, he was equally honest and true. Carter urged his fellow Americans to live their “patriotism”: to care and to conserve. No president or politician, at least in contemporary times, has consistently demonstrated fundamental principles of self-discipline (over self-service), honesty and humanity over popularity and public-office longevity or entrenchment.
President Carter saw US domestic affairs in the context of and connected with global conditions and world affairs. In an Address to the Nation on Energy (April 18, 1977), President Carter laid out ten conservation principles prefaced by this statement
“We have always been proud of our leadership in the world. Now, we have a chance again to give the world a positive example.”
Excerpt from Carter’s nearly 50-year-old Ten Conservation Principles
“[A]n effective and comprehensive energy policy (will depend on) … the Government taking responsibility for (the policy) and … the people understanding the seriousness of the challenge and (being) willing to make sacrifices.”
“… Only by saving energy can we maintain our standard of living and keep our people at work. An effective conservation program will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.”
“… [W]e must protect the environment. Our energy problems have the same cause as our environmental problems—wasteful use of resources. Conservation helps us solve both problems at once.”
“… [W]e must reduce our vulnerability to potentially devastating embargoes. We can protect ourselves from uncertain supplies by reducing our demand for oil, by making the most of our abundant resources such as coal, and by developing a strategic petroleum reserve.”
“… [W]e must be fair. Our solutions must ask equal sacrifices from every region, every class of people, and every interest group. Industry will have to do its part to conserve just as consumers will. The energy producers deserve fair treatment, but we will not let the (petroleum industries) profiteer.”
“… [T]he cornerstone of our policy is to reduce demand through conservation. … Conservation is the quickest, cheapest, most practical source of energy.…”
“… [P]rices should generally reflect the true replacement cost of energy. We are only cheating ourselves if we make energy artificially cheap and use more than we can really afford.”
“… Government policies must be predictable and certain. Both consumers and producers need policies they can count on so they can plan ahead. This is one reason that I'm working with the Congress to create a new Department of Energy to replace more than 50 different agencies that now have some control over energy.”
“… [W]e must conserve the fuels that are scarcest and make the most of those that are plentiful. We cannot continue to use oil and gas for 75 percent of our consumption, as we do now (in 1977), when they (oil and gas) make up only 7 percent of our domestic reserves. We need to shift to plentiful coal, while taking care to protect the environment; and to apply stricter safety standards to nuclear energy.”
“… [W]e must start now (1977) to develop the new, unconventional sources of energy that we will rely on in the next century.” (Carter, Jimmy 39th President of the United States 1977 ‐ 1981: “Address to the Nation on Energy.” The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-nation-energy)
By the Selfish and Self-serving, the Careless and Compromised, Carter's Call was Ridiculed or Ignored
We Remember and are grateful for the life and work of our Fellow Americans:
Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter
and
James Earl Carter Jr.
For me, it hard to think of one without thinking of the two of them together
Mrs. Carter: Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter
Author, activist, humanitarian, mental health and women’s rights advocate; First Lady of the United States of America (1977 – 1981). Native of Plains, Georgia; lifetime: August 18, 1927 – November 19, 2023
Mr. Carter: James Earl Carter Jr.
Farmer-businessman, author, public official, diplomat, humanitarian; Governor of the US State of Georgia (1971-1975); President of the United States of America (1977 – 1981); Native of Plains, Georgia; lifetime: October 1, 1924 – December 29, 2024.
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PROLIFIC SOUTHERN-BORN AMERICAN WRITER Dr. Carolyn LaDelle Bennett focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)
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