You’ve probably been asked the question at some point: What public figure do you most admire? Though there are so many admirable choices over centuries, I always came back to contemporaries, Fred Rogers and Jimmy Carter. On the one month marking of President Carter’s death, I want to share some tidbits that struck me as I listened to stories about this man of character, service and intellect.
But first, my connection to his warmth and authenticity began in 1976 when I heard him speak at my hometown Beaver Valley Mall the summer before my senior year in high school. I was so inspired that I did phone banking for his campaign that fall. Fast forward to 2018, I made a pilgrimage to Plains, Georgia to hear him give a Sunday School talk before church, which he’s done for decades and attracted people from many states and countries. At the end of the talk, he asked everyone to commit to reaching out to someone in need in the next month, even a small act of calling someone who is lonely. This experience is one I’ll always treasure.
My tribute in tidbits:
- The first story I heard on the day of President Carter’s death was from a Fox News correspondent, David Spunt, who recalled from his 2009 interview how humble, informal and well-read President Carter was. Carter even researched the background of the 20-something reporter. They stayed in touch, and President Carter sent a signed book for him on upon the birth of his daughter.
- In a 2002 rebroadcast from the PBS presidents’ biography series, I learned the tidbit that he said he didn’t want a presidential library as a monument to himself. He sat up in the middle of the night with the idea of using the center as a place for conflict resolution, saying yes to that.
- During Vice President Kamala Harris’ eulogy at the Capitol, she recounted that “on their first trip for Habitat for Humanity, Jimmy and Rosalynn rode the bus with the other volunteers. And when the group stopped for the night to stay at a local church, Jimmy and Rosalynn gave their private room to a young couple who had put off their honeymoon to join the trip. And with the other volunteers, they then slept on the floor of the church basement.”
- Phillip Kurland who had newly moved to Plains opening a souvenir shop wondered if the Carters really lived in Plains. Much to his surprise the Carters came in to his little shop to welcome him as it was being set up. As a good friend, he commented on Carter’s intellect and sharpness into his 90’s: The ABC10 local news story about this noted: My biggest dream is to come up with a topic that I could know more than him and I’ll bring something up and within two minutes my head is spinning, Kurland said. He makes me feel like… wow, I didn’t do my research.
- A nod toward their basic living: He and Roslyn still washed and reused their plastic storage bags.
- Someone recounted that they were aware from the Camp David talks, President Carter was so well researched that he knew the populations of villages in Israel and Egypt.
- One story noted that a natural struggle for anyone in power (and think was said for him) was the balance of power and humility. Likely his strong spiritual faith helped him with this.
- His favorite bible verse was: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
Last week I stumbled on the magazine, a Life commemorative edition, Jimmy Carter: A Noble Life. Of course, I bought it. I’m sure there will be many more interesting tidbits to learn, but I want to share quite a synchronicity that at the end of the night on Monday, January 20, I decided to resume my reading. The next article up? His inauguration speech.
Some of his speech was specific to the times, so I am choosing to share these two paragraphs that show insight to his spirit:
“You have given me a great responsibility – to stay close to you, to be worthy of you, and to exemplify what you are. Let us create together a new national spirit of unity and trust. Your strength can compensate for my weakness, and your wisdom can help to minimize my mistakes.
Let us learn together and laugh together and work together and pray together, confident that in the end we will triumph together in the right.”
I’m well aware of President Carter’s flaws, described by himself and others. He could be impatient, stubborn and micromanage details. And, of course, he was not good at dealing with the Washington DC politics, almost disdaining it….which didn’t help in navigating his presidency. I think history will mark his presidency more favorably than now, and it is hard to imagine his post-presidency achievements ever surpassed.
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Post script For Myers-Briggs Type Indicator aficionados: I will share that after several books, CDs, and documentaries, I am going against already diverse public opinion and posit that his personality type is an INTJ: Introverted (the one I’m less sure of; going with this both because ENTJ’s are more forceful and this also is connected to his intense reading and science/submarine background); Intuitive (love of learning, ideas and reading, even though he also likes carpentry); Thinker (strong logic orientation; don’t let his service values trick you into the “Feeling” personality category); and Judgement (this doesn’t mean judgmental, but passion for having things decided, ordered and done).
More than anything, I think Jimmy Carter exemplifies a “renaissance man” which is why his personality is so hard to pin down.
INTJ descriptor: Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and achieving their goals. Quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory perspectives. When committed, organize a job and carry it through. Skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance – for themselves and others.
