Jimmy Carter: a man of true character
There are few people in life who possess the strength of character and humanity of Jimmy Carter. He was the 39th president of the United States, the first and only president from Georgia. President Carter left the presidency to complaints about the job he did while in the Oval Office, but one thing no one can ever say about President Carter is that he didn’t care. The presidency aside, Carter’s legacy resides in his life after the White House. In his 1981 farewell address, he told Americans that he would: “take up once more the only title in our democracy superior to that of president-the title of citizen.” And what a citizen he became. As the New York Times wrote: “Citizen Carter carved a new mold for life after the Oval Office and his post-presidency was the most consequential in modern history.”
After leaving office, Carter became aware of Guinea worm disease, a painful parasitic infection for which there was no treatment or vaccine. It affected an estimated 3.5 million people, mostly in Africa and Asia. Carter is credited with the near eradication of the disease, with only seven cases reported in the first 10 months of 2024. Many left the presidency and/or Congress and had nowhere to go. That was not the case with Carter. After a short stint back home in Plains, GA, he decided to pursue issues that were not, in his mind, getting enough attention. After successfully brokering a peace deal between Israel and Egypt, President Anwar Sadat was assassinated, and Carter decided to dedicate his life to peace. Together with his wife Rosalyn and Emory University, Carter founded the Carter Center; his goal in life was to “mend a troubled world.” His work brought him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
While Carter’s original intent for the Carter Center was to work on world peace, he changed gears once he traveled to Africa and learned about Guinea worm disease. Together with Dr. William Foege (who helped eradicate smallpox), Carter set about reducing Guinea worm disease and other tropical diseases, such as river blindness and schistosomiasis (small fever). In a country filled with dirty water-the cause of Guinea worm disease-he taught villagers how to filter their drinking water through cloth. He came back to the states and enlisted DuPont to donate nylon fiber, a West Virginia factory which weaved the fibers into cloth, and a chemical company agreed to donate a pesticide to kill the larvae.
In addition to his other work, Carter and his wife created the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project for Habitat for Humanity. He didn’t just lead; he worked alongside over 108,000 volunteers, building, renovating, or repairing more than 4,447 homes while raising awareness of the need for affordable housing. Jimmy Carter left a legacy that few will ever touch. He and his wife were true Christians who lived the words and walked the walk. He is a great loss to the world, and we were lucky to have him as long as we did. Rest in peace, President Carter. You lived a life that most can only envy.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years