“Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease.”
These were the famous words spoken by Jimmy Carter over the years of history he was a part of. He not only believed in amplifying underrepresented voices but also in supporting people from all across the globe, even after his presidency ended in 1981. His establishment of the Carter Center provided people with extensive information on everything he had done and also gave young students and researchers the opportunity to understand and explore his pathways and dissect his early life. Additionally, his handwritten diary was put on display to showcase his openness about the nation and its progress. Though the state of the nation during the times after his presidency was questionable, his demise put a full stop to whatever “good” was left in the presidential era.
Currently, with Donald Trump’s reinstatement as president, we already see major differences from Former President Biden’s term. For example, the Panama Canal that was given back by Jimmy Carter, was soon proposed to be taken by him, along with birthright citizenship, among other important issues. So, even if Carter were still alive, things would still be just as bad. However, due to the impact he created with his presence and ideas of equality and diversity inclusion, his absence can be noticed, as not a lot of presidents have actively participated in making not only the nation but also the world a better place, beyond just their presidency.
As someone who had started his own initiatives to further progress the nation, even after his term was over, Jimmy Carter was someone who cared about others regardless of whether he was given a title to do so. His establishment of the Carter Center, as previously mentioned, caught the attention of people across the nation and beyond, earning him a Nobel Prize in 2002.
Over the past few years, not many presidents have lent a hand to causes closer to their communities and have instead focused more on national crises or other issues that don’t affect the people of the United States as much. This is not to say that these things aren’t important. Engaging with youth at Emory University in Atlanta as a teacher, Jimmy Carter supported young voices and aspired to amplify their presence in the policy-making process. He firmly believed in keeping students and other people alike educated and initiated his own library to further extend his presence beyond his presidency. However, there are other factors that should be taken into consideration too.
Being socially aware of such causes is often not the top priority. For example, with Donald Trump’s recent presidential inauguration, he proposed to no longer teach students about diversity and eliminate certain portions of the Department of Education. So, as a democracy, their needs have to be kept in mind and should be a high priority too if goodness wants a place in the presidential world, even after the demise of Jimmy Carter.
Some say that Carter was quite indecisive and didn’t have a clear focus on which direction he wanted his presidency to go in, or that he made bad decisions, like willingly giving away the Panama Canal.
These statements might be true, but every president goes through struggles and has to try a million things before they get the results they want. So, expecting perfection from him only means that the same scale should be used to judge presidents after him, as they too have made mistakes along the way.
Additionally, as young children, the idea of being extraordinary often is placed into their minds which impacts the way people perceive national leaders like Jimmy Carter and hold them up to such high standards.
With the new presidential era, keeping the bar high by meeting people’s needs is detrimental to the success of not only the nation but the state of the people of the United States. Regardless of whether they are a Democrat or Republican, certain values and traits must be developed to ensure a better future and foster connections for future generations to come.
Jimmy Carter’s demise may mark the end of the “good” presidential era, but the story has just begun and with a little shift in the narrative, America can be great again.
