RIP President Jimmy Carter
I write these words as I’ve just heard that former President Jimmy Carter has passed away. A great man and a great President. This news saddens me—our best wishes to his family and all who love him. Sadness is not an unfamiliar feeling for me, but anger — the type of anger that this writer felt after the election — is.
I was nearly swallowed by rage and engulfed by it. So, I want to talk about anger because there is healthy and unhealthy anger, and both must be spoken about. Unhealthy anger is what I first felt. I know many of you felt it as well because you said so. We worked so hard. We felt cheated, and so, yes, anger dominated many of us. Some still feel it.
Unfortunately, that type of anger isn’t always productive. It can rob one of reason and logic, tools of the activist trade. The more angry one is, the less ability one has to think reasonably and critically. Anger can blur one to the truth. Anger can be a force of nature that can shake us, but not in a good way.
But positive anger — that is a different story. When utilized in the right way, some anger can be constructive. And it has lessons to teach us. For example, through this last election, we learned that there is much more ignorance than we realized. There is a lot more apathy than we realize. These are things we will have to fight against.
And we can take inspiration from those who came before us who did not allow rage to sick them into its vacuum. A wonderful example is former President Carter himself who lost his bid for a second term but never allowed himself to become bitter.
Everything in life is a lesson waiting to educate us, to teach us life lessons if we only listen. As the days go on, we can utilize this last election and its lessons to help us find our way into winning MORE elections. But we must stay open and not let our reason desert us. We must open our hearts to the wins we will take in the future.
