Jimmy Carter: A Fish Out of Water?

CNN

In a recent article, Sam Sawyer, editor of America Magazine, quoted Pope Francis describing politics as “a lofty vocation, and one of the highest forms of charity, inasmuch as it seeks the common good.”

This, writes Sawyer, who like the Pope, is a Jesuit priest, “would be considered catastrophically stupid from the standpoint of political tactics.” It’s true, Pope Francis would make a terrible candidate for the job of political adviser.

Sawyer writes these thoughts in a column about Jimmy Carter, Nobel Prize winner and the 39^th U.S. president who died at age 100 two days before the end of 2024.

Impossible?

By no means does Sawyer imply that either Carter or Pope Francis are “catastrophically stupid.” His point is that, in case you haven’t noticed, American politics is far from alignment with genuine Christian values. Personally, I believe that it would be impossible for a genuinely committed Christian to win an American presidential election today.

“(Carter) is probably the best example in contemporary American history of how attempting to practice virtue in politics may be an obstacle to electoral success,” Sawyer writes. However, “…his embrace of the lofty vocation of politics and service to the common good was not limited to holding public office, and the world is better off because of it.”

Carter lost the presidency to actor Ronald Reagan in 1980. Unlike the majority of Americans who didn’t “get” Carter, I admired him and his presidency. But as it turned out, he became more of a beacon for genuine Christian values after he left office.

“Jimmy Carter redefined what a post-presidency could be…,” according to an article in CNN online. “From the Carolina Low country to the Ethiopian highlands, Carter’s humanitarian work eventually eclipsed his White House accomplishments and continues to enrich the world today.

Sam Sawyer, S.J.
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“In 1982, the former president and his wife Rosalynn founded the Carter Center, committed to human rights and alleviating suffering around the world. The Carter Center quickly became a force for peace. It strengthened democracies by observing more than 100 elections across 39 countries. It also gained renown for groundbreaking work tackling neglected tropical diseases and providing health education.

“From leading the charge at the Carter Center to building Habitat for Humanity homes…” the network featured Carter three times. “Each story showcased an endeavor that, alone, could be a lifetime’s worth of good works. Jimmy Carter’s commitment to all three is a testament to just how much a difference one person can make.”

So why do I think Carter is a good model for people searching for God?

Because he took seriously what Jesus said in Matthew’s gospel, which in my view, are the fundamental criteria for calling oneself a Christian: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger, and you welcomed me….”

“His humanitarian service,” writes Sawyer, “was animated by his deep Christian faith, and that faith was sustained by his membership at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains (GA) where he famously taught Sunday school for decades.”

Often Ridiculed

I recall that during his presidency Carter was often ridiculed for his childlike humility, but though his humility may have been childlike it wasn’t childish. Coming after Presidents Nixon and Ford, people were unaccustomed, perhaps, to such a person in the While House. He was like a fish out of water.

Carter practiced the humility of Jesus, who was born into a poor family in a backwater town, worked most of his life as a simple craftsman, and famously said we must be like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. As president, peanut farmer Carter never appeared to present himself other than as an ordinary person wanting to do his best. His story reminds me of what St. Paul wrote in his first letter to Christians in Corinth.

“… God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world … so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”