Jimmy Carter: A Visionary And A Great Humanitarian

By Editor on 3rd March 2025 • ( 0 )

Jimmy Carter: A Visionary And A Great Humanitarian

On my Facebook, today, I read the messages of condolences of some Americans and non-Americans on the death of the former President of America, Jimmy Carter, who died in December 2024. I felt incumbent to briefly comment on this great man from my personal understanding about his leadership and governance.

He was a great humanitarian and a man of values. Many people have commented on his death with one significant word “Humanitarian”, is mostly common in these comments. It shows his greatness as the champion of human rights and adorer of humanity. The President of any country must not be the victim of Racism and religious extremism. The world needs moderate leaders and humanitarian rulers like President Jimmy Carter of America.

Recently, the world has seen a bigoted racist and religious fanatic in the garb of president of America, Joe Biden, who aired the flames of war in Gaza, Palestine by announcing in Israel that he is a Zionist. He fully supported Israel in destroying Gaza and in the horrible massacre of the innocent civilians of Gaza. I consider him a war criminal like the Prime Minister of Israel, Netanyahu who has been rightly declared war criminal by the International Court for Justice. How a Christian president could declare himself to be a Zionist, while the moderate and liberal Jews even renounce and denounce Zionism?

Zionism means racism and religious extremism. Zionism is barbarism. Zionism is terrorism. The announcement of Joe Biden exposes his deep-down hatred for Islam and Muslims. Such rulers are a curse and stigma on the bright brow of humanity. I wonder that no voice from American churches and from American Christians raised against this obnoxious statement of Joe Biden.

Jimmy Carter was a practicing Christian but his Christendom was derived from the universal and humanistic spirit of the holy life and teachings of Jesus Christ. He was not enmeshed by papacy, priests and bigots. He spread the fragrance of love, humility, empathy, compassion, honesty, kindness and love amongst all Americans, irrespective of their differences of colour, creed, class, cult and gender. He was a great man, who honestly served Americans.

One point that I want to highlight about his personality is that, besides a politician, he was a poet as well. Poets are the harbingers of peace, justice, love and humanity. So, he was emblem of humanity. In my book of English articles/columns titled “The Gleams of Wisdom”, published in 2003, there is an article titled “Poetry of Jimmy Carter”. The title of his book is “Always a Reckoning”. In a poem captioned “Progress Does Not Always Come Easy”, he says:

My own neighbours warned me I had gone
too far in changing what we had always done.
I lost the next campaign, and failed to carry,
A single, precent with a cemetery.

I would like to quote some very heart touching, inspiring and insightful lines from his poetry book. The poem “Always a Reckoning”, is the title of his book as well is a beautiful poem. It begins thus:

There always seemed to be a need
for reckoning in early days.
What came in equated what went out
Like oscillating ocean waves.

About this book in my book titled “The Gleams of Wisdom” on page 331, I had written:

“I am really delighted and elevated to read the poems of Jimmy Carter, which reflect his inner self. He is a man whose simple joys enabled and enlivened the pristine simplicity of pure poetry. His prismatic aura of feelings, his serene but charismatic personality becomes the hub of attraction. This collection consists of his personal experiences. Besides, personal and sensual reflexes, we find some social and political reflections sparked with wry and occasional humour. The poem “ Always a Reckoning”, which is the title of the book as well, is a symbol of moderation, observation and calculation, representing the bitter side of practical aspects of life”.

In this article on his poetry, in detail, I had discussed his reformatory mission and humanistic mindset.

In 2003, I visited America and mailed him my poetry book. It was mailed at the address of a Humanitarian Centre founded in his name in Atlanta, Georgia. After some days, the secretary of the Jimmy Carter Centre, called me and thanked me for mailing the book to the former president Jimmy Carter and told me that my book was presented to him which he received happily and with thanks.

Jimmy Carter was born in 1924 and died in 2024. He was the 39th president of the United States of America. He was a Nobel Peace Prize winner. He died on Sunday, December, at the record- breaking age of 100 years. His glorious record of honesty, integrity, dignity and humanity has immortalized him. His dedication to public service and his vision for a “competent and compassionate” political leader will always be remembered.

He took personal interest to amicably resolve the issue of Israel-Palestine and OSLO pact is his great political legacy that is an insignia for the peaceful settlement of Middle East issue. He was a peace- monger. He was a charismatic politician with a charitable spirit. He was a fair person and hated the political gimmicks. Even after his retirement from politics, he established a Centre for Democracy, peace and charity. He is one of my favourite politicians and presidents. I wish all countries to have such visionary, moderate, modest, efficient, honest leadership and rulers.

The Carter Centre was founded in 1982, in Atlanta, Georgia which aimed seeking to prevent, and resolve international conflicts, enhance freedom, democracy and improve health. He belonged to Democratic Party but served Americans interests without political, ethnic, religious or racial discrimination. His immaculate services to seek peace and human rights earned him the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. He wrote political memoirs, and other books, commentary on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and also wrote poetry. He visited many countries as a negotiator in the ardent quest to maintain world peace.