“In a world full of Donalds, be a Jimmy.”
“Jimmy Carter was the embodiment of the saying, ‘Instead of building a bigger wall, build a bigger table.’”
News of the passing at age 100 last weekend of the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, led to an immediate outpouring of gratitude for his service not only as president from 1976 to 1981, but as an exemplary human being who manifested a deep faith with practical acts of generosity and kindness.
An outpouring of positive sentiments not only in memory of Carter, but also rendered more poignant by the prospects of what the new Donald Trump term will hold, has been overwhelming.
Statements as tributes to the life and work of Jimmy Carter have issued forth from every quarter, age group, nation and political party. In the City of Falls Church, Jeff Person, the chair of the Democratic Committee here issued the following statement:
“The Falls Church City Democratic Committee Chair Jeff Person on behalf of the Falls Church City Democratic Committee joins the nation and the world in mourning the passing of former President Jimmy Carter, a leader whose life was defined by an unwavering commitment to peace, justice, and service. With his passing, the world has lost a true icon and a great man.
President Carter dedicated his life to public service, beginning as a naval officer and continuing as governor of Georgia, the 39th President of the United States, and a tireless advocate, diplomat, and philanthropist in the years following his presidency. He used his global platform to fight against war and injustice, bring attention to the plight of the poor and marginalized, and help those in need.
“In 2002, President Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in promoting peace and human rights, as well as his efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts. Through the Carter Center, which he founded in 1982, he led initiatives to advance democracy, improve global health, and combat neglected tropical diseases. His efforts to ensure safe drinking water and eradicate diseases have improved millions of lives around the world.
President Carter’s legacy is one of compassion, generosity, and courage. His lifelong commitment to justice and human rights has inspired countless people and will continue to serve as a model for generations to come.
“The Falls Church City Democratic Committee honors his memory and extends our deepest condolences to the Carter family. We thank him for his service to our country and for showing us what it means to lead with humility, hope, and a deep sense of purpose.”
Also, Virginia’s U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner issued the following statement:
“Jimmy Carter blazed a trail from the peanut fields of Plains, Georgia to the Navy, the Governor’s Mansion, the White House, and to a remarkable post-presidential career – modeling leadership, philanthropy, and love of country every step of the way. We lost a giant.
“Jimmy Carter gave me my first job out of law school, and I have deeply admired his service since leaving the Oval Office. His dedication to building homes through Habitat for Humanity has always brought back warm memories of my father, who also volunteered with the organization well into his eighties. Like much of the Greatest Generation, President Carter will be remembered by what he built and left behind for us – a model of service late into life, a tireless devotion to family and philanthropy, and a more peaceful world to call home.”
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Reich honored the memory of Carter by revisiting the words that Carter wrote on June 16, 1977 and placed in Voyager 1, which is the most distant human-made object from Earth.
Carter’s “statement to the heavens” was as follows:
“This Voyager spacecraft was constructed by the United States of America. We are a community of 240 million human being among the more than 4 billion who inhabit the planet Earth. We human beings are still divided into nation states, but these states are rapidly becoming a single global civilization.
“We cast this message into the cosmos. It is likely to survive a billion years into our future, when our civilization is profoundly altered and the surface of the Earth may be vastly changed. Of the 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, some – perhaps many – may have inhabited planet and spacefaring civilizations. If one such civilization intercepts Voyager and can understand these recorded contents, here is our message:
““This is a present from a small distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours. We hope someday, having solved the problem we face, to join a community of galactic civilizations. This record represents our hope and our determination, and our good will in a vast and awesome universe.
“— Jimmy Carter, President of the United States of America, the White House, June 16, 1977.”
Reich added this: “I’m struck today by this message’s optimism — the idea that we on Earth are becoming a single global civilization which might survive another billion years and someday join a community of galactic civilizations. It all sounds charmingly naive now, when the world is wracked by war, famine, and the ravages of climate change, and when Donald Trump is getting ready to isolate America from the rest of the world.
“Yet Jimmy Carter was an optimist about human nature. The word ‘civilization’ appears five times in his short message. Carter believed passionately in the capacity of human beings to create civil societies that would contain the beasts in all of us. Civilization would prevail over brutality. Humanity over inhumanity.”
“Carter was a religious man who lived by this simple civil religion. He not only saw the good in others but he practiced the good. He was far from the best president America has had but he was one of the best and most decent people ever to serve as president. He never wavered in his optimism. He spread it throughout his life. He spread it to the farthest reaches of the cosmos. May he rest in peace in that cosmos.”
