Comments on: Honorary Harpy: Jimmy Carter

By: Harpy Book Club, January Edition - The Pursuit of Harpyness

Harpy Book Club, January Edition - The Pursuit of Harpyness — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:03:31 +0000

[...] While I read other books this month, I’m picking this one in part because of its subject. SarahMC wrote about Carter’s statements on women’s rights, and it was heartening to read a great deal [...]

By: But I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For… - The Pursuit of Harpyness

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:02:02 +0000

[...] does responsibility feel like — Taking on the task of doing the right thing, like this or [...]

By: have.at.it

have.at.it — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:34:28 +0000

I love Jimmy Carter. I went to Emory, and every year he comes and speaks to the freshman class there. His speech to my class was both tender and inspiring. He tied together his love of his wife and kids and his love of his country.
He may not have been the most effective president, but he is a hell of an effective international statesman.

By: emilyanne

emilyanne — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:48:08 +0000

I’m so glad you mentioned this column, I read it on Sunday and thought it was incredible. I will also admit that in the past I have been guilty of dismissing Carter, for no real reason, and his piece made me feel ashamed of having done so.

By: mischiefmanager

mischiefmanager — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:23:53 +0000

@BeckySharper: No, I don’t think that Jews see Israel as a means to an end. For all the Jews I know, it’s an end in and of itself. For the right wing, there are scriptural reasons why the existence of Israel is a necessity; for the rest of who support the state’s existence, there are historical and cultural reasons.

Ultimately, though, Israelis, like any other group, are going to have to change themselves. No one else can do it for them or pressure them into doing it. But as far as I’m concerned, they are a Jewish state in name only, given the immoral acts the state perpetrates in the name of Judaism. The problem with Jimmy’s statement was that it only exacerbates the defensiveness that produces stupid, bigoted policy.

@soalg: Isn’t is funny that Democratic former presidents (and at least one vp) are out there trying to change the world for the better, and Republican ones spent/spend their time riding horses, playing golf and jumping out of airplanes-until Uncle Bill shames Bush I into doing something with some actual impact. Gotta love that compassionate conservatism.

By: J.D.Regent

J.D.Regent — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:03:32 +0000

Also Rosalynn is super super cool, a real champion on mental health issues.

By: J.D.Regent

J.D.Regent — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:03:11 +0000

Aww I grew up on the narrative that Carter was our best president since Kennedy. My religious mother LOVED when he said he had committed adultery “in his heart.” I will say, the man is pro life, but seems to understand the problematics of it more than almost any other pro life person I can think of. He’s a beautiful man, a true servant of humanity. I’m not sure that his work on Israel/Palestine issues is connected to an apocalyptic vision as it is for some conservative Christians. My understanding was that those Christians tend to support the militarization of Israel and its efforts to expand and solidify its power in the region uncompromisingly. Whatever you think of Carter’s position on those issues, I think they are coming from a genuine place of concern for human rights.

By: sarah.of.a.lesser.god

sarah.of.a.lesser.god — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:14:13 +0000

Carter is excellent proof that sometimes* the weakest Presidents are the more admirable of the men who have filled the office. I highly recommend the book The Unfinished Presidency by Douglas Brinkley about Carter’s post-Presidency years. Given the crucial role that public declarations of Christianity have been in national politics for the past few decades, I think it’s all the more commendable for Carter to take this stance. I can’t see Bush 43 ever standing up to any denomination of Christianity in the way Carter did with the SBC.

*For exceptions to this rule see Harding, Warren G.

By: BeckySharper

BeckySharper — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:24:56 +0000

@mischiefmanager: Yeah, I know a lot of people in the Jewish community who were furious with Jimmy Carter for that book (including all the clergy at my synagogue, who practically sat shiva for him after that). I agree that “apartheid” is too strong a word, but I like that he called Israel out on some of its more egregious hypocrisy and human rights problems. It was the first time that someone from the Christian evangelical community stood up and said both to Israel and to their evangelical fanclub, “Hey guys, this is NOT cool.”

Did it constitute treating Israel as a means to an end? Probably. I don’t know any evangelical Christians who don’t feel that way about Israel. Or any Jews or Muslims for that matter.

By: mischiefmanager

mischiefmanager — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:06:30 +0000

Jimmy lost some of my good opinion when he accused Israel of apartheid. There’s no doubt that Israel needs desperately to clean up its act with regard to Israeli Palestinians, but equating Israel with South Africa in its bad days is a gross overstatement. For me, his major weakness as a moral spokesman is his view of Israel from a conservative Christian viewpoint, which sees Israel as a stepping stone to the return of the Christian messiah. It’s not respectful to use people, and treating Israel as a means to an end (and an end to which we object) is pretty rude and unproductive.

Having said all that, my family worked hard for Jimmy’s election and we remain proud that we did so. We were even invited to the White House the day after the Inauguration! Jimmy is a remarkable, principled man who has never hesitated to do what he thinks is right, and we could use more of those in government. I’d vote for him again tomorrow.

One of our daughter’s proudest possessions is my old “Pittsburghers for Jimmy Carter” t shirt. I’d still wear one too if I had one that fit!