A giant of a man was buried recently in the small town of Plains, Georgia.
Not in terms of physical stature—he was of medium height and build—or length of life, although he lived to be 100 years old.
I’m speaking of his character. Jimmy Carter was a genuinely good man, who lived a life trying to be of use to others rather than living to mainly serve himself.
He was considered by many to have been a failure as President, largely because of the Iranian hostage crisis. But his concern for the 53 people, diplomats and citizens, who were taken prisoner at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, is an example of Jimmy Carter’s caring about other people. His insistence that those hostages all come back alive (which they did), when he could perhaps have made a less admirable deal that would have ended the standoff earlier and, in the eyes of many, have made himself look good, makes it clear Carter was throughout the ordeal much wiser and stronger than he appeared at the time.
A Texas political operative, Ben Barnes, has now admitted to The Guardian newspaper that he held meetings with Middle East leaders prior to the 1980 election in which he urged Iran, “Don’t release the hostages before the election. Mr. Reagan will win and give you a better deal.”
Reagan, of course, did win that election, and the hostages all came home immediately afterwards. We’ll probably never know what may have been given up by Reagan to the hostage-takers. Many suspected at the time that a deal had been made to delay the hostages’ release until after Reagan could profit from their continued imprisonment. Of course nothing was admitted at the time, so we could only suspect.
Now it’s clear that there was underhanded dealing, since someone directly involved in it has come forward and apologized for his part in it (Robert Tait, The Guardian, “A Four-Decade Secret: One Man’s Story of Sabotaging Carter’s Re-election,” www.theguardian.com/ us-news/2025/jan/08/jimmy-carteriran- hostage-enbassy).
Carter’s presidency is undergoing a reevaluation now, as often happens with presidents long after their tenure, and his many accomplishments in the office are gaining greater appreciation.
He did many actions worthy of acclamation. During his Presidency, Carter brokered the Camp David Accords that brought an end to the state of war between Israel and Egypt, a peace agreement that still holds today. That accomplishment and Carter’s subsequent efforts for peace in the world were recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
He was also ahead of his time in recognizing the climate crisis, placing solar panels on the White House long before they were widely accepted on most homes and businesses. His successor, Ronald Reagan, unfortunately removed the panels, but Carter’s point on behalf of the environment had been made. And with the super-storms and uncontrollable wildfires that much of the world is enduring now, it’s clear that the world is indeed undergoing global warming.
The year just past, 2024, was the hottest year on record, weather pundits agree. And who can forget the images of heroic firefighters who have strug- gled to contain fires in the Los Angeles area that have, so far, killed at least 16 people and made thousands of people homeless?
Carter’s life after the presidency is recognized by almost everyone as having been exemplary. Carter founded The Carter Center in Atlanta, GA, which has worked for peace and for medical advancements in many places throughout the world. One major accomplishment is the near-eradication of the guinea worm, reducing the cases of that parasitic infection throughout Asia and Africa from its high of 48 million cases in the 1940s to a mere handful of cases now, mainly through improved hygiene and community-based efforts (Sarah DeWeerdt, “Even with no drug or vaccine, eradication of guinea worm is in sight,” NATURE, July 18, 2024, www.nature.com).
His efforts on behalf of Habitat for Humanity are well known. He and his wife Rosalynn helped build over 4,000 homes in this country and 13 other countries (www.habitat. org/carter-work-project).
I met Jimmy Carter myself, in 1974 soon after he had announced as a candidate for president. I was living in Norman at the time and driving home on weekends. At OU, I was taking courses in writing and photography, and one assignment in the photography class was to get a picture of someone making a political speech. I learned that this new presidential candidate—the then-governor of Georgia, a long shot who was given little chance of winning—would be speaking in Oklahoma City.
So I drove over and, as I was walking along a hallway of the convention center where the speech was to be, I saw Jimmy Carter coming toward me. Noting the Brownie in my hand that was trained on him, he paused and let me get a few pix. I later got more shots of him actually giving his speech.
It wasn’t a particularly memorable meeting—I’m certain he wouldn’t have remembered it later—but I appreciated the fact that he gave me the same respect that candidates customarily give to reporters from major media like the New York Times.
I’ve since learned that, during that campaign, Jimmy Carter often slept on people’s couches because he couldn’t afford hotels. That was a shoestring campaign. But one that gave us a truly good man as president.
On the occasion when I met him, he was alone—no fawning admirers or campaign staffers, no Secret Service personnel. (This was before every announced candidate for the presidency is regularly given Secret Service protection.)
With Carter’s recent death, I can’t help comparing him to the man who has just been elected president.
Can anyone imagine Donald Trump’s devoting even one instant of his life thinking about someone other than himself?
He’s a skilled con man, and many people believe the lies he tells. Of course, the major advantage that any con man has is that people want to believe him.
Many voters wanted to believe Trump when he said that he could fix the many things that were affecting people’s lives for the worse.
Was food too expensive? Trump would fix it. (Sure, and lots of people will gladly sell you a title to the Brooklyn Bridge.)
Since the election, Trump has said, well, too bad, he can’t actually fix the cost of food. “It’s hard to bring prices down, once they’ve gone up,” he says now.
Well, duh, of course it is. But Trump’s lies helped win him that election.
Jimmy Carter would never have told a lie like that. He wasn’t a con man.
Unfortunately, we have to put up with Donald Trump for the next four years. If only he would imitate Jimmy Carter in even such a small action as telling the truth.
He won’t, and that’s our loss. The death of Jimmy Carter means a loss for all of us.