Jimmy Carter's 2005 book, Our Endangered Values, speaks directly to so many of the concerns expressed by the people in this community.
In Dallas, I speak at a monthly gathering at which I present a synopsis of a book dealing with issues of social justice. This month, the book was President Carter's book. Here is a key quote that summarizes his heart, revealing his Christian core, though also revealing that that core is quite different from what is found among many in the right-wing Christian community:
"I believe that anyone can be successful in life, regardless of natural talent or the environment within which we live. This is not based on measuring success by human competitiveness for wealth, possessions, influence, and fame, but adhering to God’s standards of truth, justice, humility, service, compassion, forgiveness, and love." (p. 28).
With each presentation, I provide a couple of pages of (my choice for the) key quotes from the book. Following are the quotes I included for this presentation. Notice especially the references to the rise of "fundamentalisms," (a threat warned against by Martin Marty years ago).
And with the latest news about the ever-increasing level of income disparity, I especially appreciated this: "To quote a Christian friend, the new economic philosophy in Washington is that a rising tide raises all yachts."
I think these are worth reading and revisiting.
Randy Mayeux, Dallas r.mayeux@airmail.net ------- Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis New York: Simon & Schuster. (2005). Jimmy Carter
With the most diverse and innovative population on earth, we have learned the value of providing our citizens with accurate information, treating dissenting voices and beliefs with respect, and accommodating free and open debate on controversial issues… All of these historic commitments are now being challenged. (pp. 1 & 2).
Fundamentalists have become increasingly influential in both religion and government, and have managed to change the nuances and subtleties of historic debate into black-and-white rigidities and the personal derogation of those who dare to disagree. (p. 3).
To quote a Christian friend, the new economic philosophy in Washington is that a rising tide raises all yachts. (p. 4).
Regardless of the costs, some leaders are openly striving to create a dominant American empire throughout the world. (p. 4).
It has been a struggle for me to withstand pressures from cherished constituents in my political decisions as a state senator, governor, and president. (p. 5).
Stronger and sharper partisan differences have evolved among Americans in recent years, quite a departure from when I was in the White House… Probing public debate on key legislative decisions is almost a thing of the past. Basic agreements are made between lobbyists and legislative leaders, often within closed party caucuses where rigid discipline is paramount. Even personal courtesies, which had been especially cherished in the U. S. Senate, are no longer considered to be sacrosanct. This deterioration in harmony, cooperation, and collegiality in the Congress is, at least in part, a result of the rise of fundamentalist tendencies and their religious and political impact. (pp. 7 & 8).
A commitment to human rights came, I guess, from my personal knowledge of the devastating effect of racial segregation in my region in the country. (p. 8).
(The) sharp and growing difference over the issue of whether international disputes can be better resolved by diplomacy or by military action is now the most accurate predictor of party affiliation – more important than gay marriage, homosexuality, or abortion. (p. 10).
It is encouraging that Americans overwhelmingly agree on several important questions: the value of religion in individual lives, the power of personal initiative to realize human potential, the need to protect the environment even if that is costly, doubt about the integrity of big business, and a desire for federal obscenity laws against hard-core pornography to be enforced vigorously. Americans also increasingly support more government assistance for the poor and needy, but one remaining difference is that many more Republicans than Democrats believe that poor people have easy lives. (p. 10).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American children are sixteen times more likely than children in other industrialized nations to be murdered with a gun, eleven times more likely to commit suicide with a gun, and nine times more likely to die from firearms accidents. The John Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research reports that the rate of firearm homicide in the United States is nineteen times higher than that of 35 other high-income countries combined. (p. 13).
As an American who has been deeply involved in the political life of our country, I find these statistics to be very interesting. As with almost all citizens, however, my private life has been the major factor in shaping my own opinions and my personal reactions to the collective views of others. (p. 15).
One of our most fervent commitments was to the complete separation of church and state. This was an issue of great importance, and we studied Christian martyrs who had sacrificed their lives rather than let any secular leader encroach on religious freedom… we abhorred the concept of church congregations becoming involved in the partisan political world. We also believed in religious freedom, compassion for unbelievers, and respect for all persons as inherently equal before God. At least one Sunday each year was devoted to protection of the environment, or stewardship, of the earth. (pp. 18 & 19).
As manager of a Billy Graham crusade, (this was still a time of racial segregation) I followed Graham’s rule of requiring integrated planning sessions and audiences… (pp. 23-24).
There are three words that characterize this (new/dominant) brand of fundamentalism: rigidity, domination, and exclusion. (p. 35).
During the last quarter century, there has been a parallel right-wing movement within American politics (note: parallel to internal struggles among the Southern Baptists), often directly tied to the attributes of like-minded Christian groups. (p. 43).
During the last two decades, Christian fundamentalists have increasingly and openly challenged and rejected Jesus’ admonition to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” (p. 53).
Jesus proclaimed that his ministry was to “bring good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and to release the oppressed.” This statement has always been well known to Christians, but after a lifetime of responsibilities in both religious and political arenas, I reached what was, to me, a surprising and somewhat reluctant conclusion. In efforts to reach out to the poor, alleviate suffering, provide homes for the homeless, eliminate the stigma of poverty or racial discrimination, preserve peace, and rehabilitate prisoners, government office holders and not church members were more likely to assume responsibility and be able to fulfill the benevolent mission. (p. 57).
“What are the goals of a person or a denomination or a country? They are all remarkably the same: a desire for peace; a need for humility, for examining one’s faults and turning away from them; a commitment to human rights in the broadest sense of the words, based on a moral society concerned with the alleviation of suffering because of deprivation or hatred or hunger or physical affliction; and a willingness, even an eagerness, to share one’s ideals, one’s faith with others, to translate love in a person to justice.” (from a speech delivered by Jimmy Carter to his fellow Baptists, 1978). (pp. 59-60).
Sometimes all of us Christians forget the scriptural assertions “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” and “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (p. 65).
With economic prosperity and strong social services, American abortion rates reached a twenty-four-year low during the 1990’s, to a rate of only sixteen per thousand women of childbearing age. (p. 74).
Women are greatly abused in many countries in the world, and the alleviation of their plight is made less likely by the mandated subservience of women by Christian fundamentalists. What is especially disappointing to me is the docile acceptance by so many strong Christian women of their subjugation and restricted role. (p. 93).
It is an embarrassing tragedy to see a departure from our nation’s historic leadership as a champion of human rights, with the abandonment defended legally by top officials. Only the American people can redirect our government’s legal, religious, and political commitments to these ancient and unchanging moral principles. (pp. 132-133).
Until recently, all American presidents since Dwight Eisenhower have striven to restrict and reduce nuclear arsenals – some more than others… The world is crying out for positive leadership from Washington, and there are some important steps that could be taken. America is at the forefront in making this great moral decision. Instead of setting an example for others, we seem to be choosing proliferation. (pp. 141 & 145).
I have cherished a plaque that a cabinet member gave me the day I left office, with a quote from Thomas Jefferson: “I have the consolation to reflect that during the period of my administration not a drop of the blood of a single citizen was shed by the sword of war.” (p. 149).
One of the characteristics of fundamentalists is to forgo discussion or negotiation to resolve differences, interpreting this as a sign of weakness in adhering to their own principles. (pp. 161-162).
When there are serious differences with other nations, is it best to permit direct negotiations to resolve the problems, or to brand those who differ as international pariahs – and to refuse to permit such discussions? (pp. 162-163).
America is by far the world’s leading polluter, and our government’s abandonment of its responsibilities is just another tragic step in a series of actions that have departed from the historic bipartisan protection of the global environment. Our proper stewardship of God’s world is a personal and political moral commitment. (p. 177).