I <3 Jimmy Carter, Part II

Wednesday, December 30, 2009
It's no secret that I love Jimmy Carter, for a variety of reasons. I consider him to be one of the most moral and upstanding statesmen of his generation. I believe his example is one that gives me something to aspire to, and that he stands as a stunning role model for those people of faith who also value critical thinking skills and the pursuit of secular truth.

I've been making my way through his books, and while his sojourn into fiction was singularly unimpressive, I'm enjoying his nonfiction. I'm currently listening to Our Endangered Values, and in spite of our diametrically opposed religious viewpoints, I'm having more and more "what he said!" moments. Here is a man who has lived his whole life as a person of deep faith, and yet his viewpoints are ones that I can find common ground with. Part of that has to do with the fact that he's an unapologetic liberal, of course, but he also stands as an example of how devout Christians can act in the public sphere with compassion and a capacity for compromise.

For example, here is a quote from this book where President Carter discusses the label "fundamentalist," and how it pertains to a society's ability to come to terms with all its members:
For generations, leaders within my own church and denomination had described themselves as “fundamentalists,” claiming that they were clinging to the fundamental elements of our Baptist beliefs and resisting the pressures and influence of the modern world. This inclination to “cling to unchanging principles” is an understandable and benign aspect of religion, and a general attitude that I have shared during most of my life. I soon learned that there was a more intense form of fundamentalism, with some prevailing characteristics:
  • Almost invariably, fundamentalist movements are led by authoritarian males who consider themselves to be superior to others and, within religious groups, have an overwhelming commitment to subjugate women and to dominate their fellow believers.
  • Although fundamentalists usually believe that the past is better than the present, they retain certain self-beneficial aspects of both their historic religious beliefs and the modern world.
  • Fundamentalists draw clear distinctions between themselves, as true believers, and others, convinced that they are right and that anyone who contradicts them is ignorant and possibly evil.
  • Fundamentalists are militant in fighting against any challenge to their beliefs. They are often angry and sometimes resort to verbal or even physical abuse against those who interfere with the implementation of their agenda.
  • Fundamentalists tend to make their self-definition increasingly narrow and restricted, to isolate themselves, to demagogue emotional issues, and to view change, cooperation, negotiation, and other efforts to resolve differences as signs of weakness.
To summarize, there are three words that characterize this brand of fundamentalism: rigidity, domination, and exclusion.

I was walking the Boogie-Dog as I listened to this passage, and it's a good thing I was the only one on the path. I was waving my arms like a loon, saying, "Yes, yes! Exactly! That's exactly right!" He applies this definition to both religious and political fundamentalists, and points out how very unproductive such a mindset is. It's difficult to achieve any kind of political compromise or work with others of differing viewpoints towards a common goal if you're too busy engaging in smug assholery to listen for areas of commonality.

He goes on to point out the inherent hypocrisies in some of the fundamentalist positions, including the dichotomy between someone who claims to be 'pro-life' but simultaneously supports the death penalty; the subjugation of women by religious hierarchy; and the infiltration of the religious right into politics.

All of these positions are things I've ranted about before, but since I'm a dirty, dirty heathen (and a liberal!), my opinion doesn't really mean much in the eyes of the devout. But Jimmy Carter? The most devout president in recent memory?* He's got some credibility, and the fact that he has the intellectual honesty to call out his own coreligionists makes me admire him even more.

I don't agree with every position taken by former President Carter. Such adulation leaves no room for meaningful dialogue, and would probably make him stunningly uncomfortable. It really is too bad he was such a poor president, because he is an incredibly effective human being.


*Yes, including W. Comparing the thoughtful, analytic, studious faith of Jimmy Carter to the blind devotion of W is like comparing my science background (i.e., fan-girl) to that of a scientist with an advanced degree - i.e., just plain silly.

3 comments:

vince said...

Two other things about Jimmy Carter are his ability to acknowledge mistakes, and his actually living his faith, especially the part about loving your neighbors as yourself.

Janiece said...

Vince, I agree. I think the thing I admire the most about him is his complete lack of hypocrisy.

Carol Elaine said...

Janiece, I have that book on my shelf and I've actually read it. Like you, I had many "Yes!" moments, but as I was on the bus, I managed to restrain my natural instincts.

Jimmy Carter is definitely a man worthy of deep respect and wholesale admiration.

I wish all people of faith were like Carter (and Vince and Shawn).