Washington, DC., January 9, 2025 ———
Today, the world said goodbye to James Earl Carter, the 39th President of the United States. The legacy of Jimmy Carter is more than his four years in the Georgia Governor’s Mansion, or his four years in the White House – rather it is a compilation of faith, service, and humanity.
As president, Jimmy Carter didn’t just make policy and pass legislation during his term but implemented action that far outlived his time as POTUS. In many respects, he was far-sighted in that he saw income inequality, the discrimination of women and girls, and climate change, as issues that needed to be addressed in 1976.
President Carter initiated several programs directed at addressing climate change. The Department of Energy (which he established along with the Department of Education) was tasked with promoting energy efficiency standards for vehicles and appliances. He actively pushed for renewable energy sources such as solar power. I remember when he installed solar panels on the roof of the White House. Although the panels were removed by the Reagan Administration, an updated version of solar power was reintroduced in 2003, by the George W. Bush Administration. The solar panels were eventually reinstalled on the White House roof by the Obama Administration.
Foreign Policy
Carter was committed to brokering peace in the Middle East. After three decades of conflict between Egypt and Israel, the Camp David Accords established the framework for a permanent peace agreement between the two countries. The Accords led to a stronger economic and security relationship between the US, Egypt, and Israel. However, the first framework addressed the Palestinian territories without including Palestinian participation. It was condemned by the UN. Although the Accords did not lead to a formal peace agreement, both Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin were awarded a shared Nobel Peace Prize. However, tragically Anwar Sadat lost his life trying to follow a path of peace for his country.
In September 1977, President Carter negotiated an agreement between the US and Panama – the Panama Canal Treaty – that transferred control of the canal back to Panama. President Carter considered it to be one of his highest achievements as president.
He crafted the SALT II (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the US and the Soviet Union aimed to limit the number of nuclear weapons each country could possess. The treaty was signed by President Carter and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. The treaty was never ratified by the US Senate and therefore did not go into effect. Still, getting the Soviets to the table to agree to limit nuclear weapons in 1979 was no small feat. It is an accomplishment to be proud of.
During his last year in office, President Carter faced the complication of the eruption of the Iranian Revolution, which led to the Iran Hostage Crisis. During the crisis, fifty-three US citizens and diplomats were held from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1980, in Tehran. After the news of Carter’s passing, several former hostages said, “He brought us back alive; he saved our lives.”
Life After the White House
Jimmy Carter’s legacy didn’t end when he left the White House. Whereas many people finish their time in government and then disappear into the sunset, never to be heard from again… or have very little to say – that was not Jimmy Carter. His public service continued. He used his voice to address national and international public policy issues, worked to resolve conflict, advocated for human rights, promoted democracy, and worked to prevent diseases and other hardships impacting humanity.
He authored some 32 books on everything from his faith, and international relations, to the rights of women and girls. Two of his books are about the Israel-Palestine conflict: Palestine Peace Not Apartheid and The Blood of Abraham: Insights Into the Middle East. He frequently said for there to be peace in the region, the US would have to make some hard decisions on the Palestine question. Carter also repeatedly said he supported a two-state solution.
President Carter is celebrated for his profound commitment to peace, human rights, and democracy. More than just about politics, his life epitomized what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. To him, his neighbors were not limited to the people near his home in Plains, Georgia, but the people of the world. A person of integrity and character; he walked the talk and his service to humanity was immeasurable.
Until 2020, he and his wife Rosalynn volunteered one week a year for Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that helps needy people in the US and abroad to build and renovate homes for themselves. In 2019, the then ninety-five-year-old fell while working on a Habitat house in Nashville, Tennessee suffering a head injury that required fourteen stitches and left him with a bruised and swollen eye. The next day, he was back on the job – working on the house.
The Carter Center leads the international campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease. Guinea worm disease affects communities in remote parts of Africa that do not have safe drinking water. There is no treatment or vaccine for the disease. Through educating communities about the disease, teaching safe water filtering practices, and providing safe water, worldwide Guinea worm disease has been eradicated. At the time of his death in December 2024, there were 7 cases worldwide. All of those cases were in South Sudan.
“Blessed are the Peacemakers”
In 2002, the Nobel Committee awarded Jimmy Carter the Peace Prize for his untiring efforts to advance global peace, promote social justice and human rights, and promote economic and local development in the lives of underserved communities.
As an undergrad student at the University of Hawaii Manoa at the time, his Nobel Speech impressed upon my psyche what it means to give service to humanity. Where others left pity, made excuses, and turned in the opposite direction of suffering, Jimmy Carter found partnerships.
I was moved then and still indelibly marked by his words, “War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.” Although those words were spoken more than two decades ago, their profound impact could not be truer today. We can and must do better.
Jimmy Carter lived a life of peace and compassion. His was a life lived to the fullest. May his soul be eternally rewarded.
With gratitude… Lara
Photo credit: Personal Photo taken from the funeral of President James Earl Carter, Jr., January 9, 2025, Washington DC, Washington National Cathedral.
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Lara Kajs is the founder and executive director of The Genocide Report, a nonprofit NGO in Washington DC. She is the author of Stories from Yemen: A Diary from the Field, and the forthcoming, Assad’s Syria: Displacement, Torture, and Mass Execution. Ms. Kajs frequently speaks about atrocity crimes, forced displacement, and international human rights. Follow and connect with Lara Kajs on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn