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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | Too Honest for the White House |
| I met Jimmy Carter in 1991, when he and I were in Zambia at the same time. It is hard to meet a former US Presdient, and ironic to meet him in Africa. I was resident in Kenya at that time, working as a linguist designing language and culture training programs for foreigners coming to work with Christian churches.
I happened to be visiting in Zambia at that time investigating local resources for organizing a language programs for the language of the Lozi people, who live along the Zambezi River in Zambia and surrounding countries. Jimmy was there with staff from his Carter Foundation monitoring the elections of the country for a transition to democracy after a long period under the first president, really a dictator, Kenneth Kaunda. I was invited to attend a meeting of American missionaries he was scheduled to address. He was a wonderfully unpretentious and personable person, a real person meeting other real persons. He spoke formally and then informally at a general reception with us. After the meeting with the gorup, I had a further opportunity to visit with Jimmy personally. I joined the leader of the mission group that had arranged the meeting to talk informally with President Carter as he sat in the open door of his van, while waiting for the final security checks to be finished by his Secret Service officers before his departure. In this book Jimmy Carter presents his experiences and memories of his one term in office as President of the United States. He expresses himself in the same personal, unpretentious and humble style he exhibited when speaking to us in person. He writes in an honest and confessional style to present his experiences. He writes not in terms of a catalogue of events, but in personal terms of his thoughts and feelings as the events unfolded. He starts off with the Iran hostage affair, which was not finally resolved until a few minutes after he had already relinquished his office to Ronald Reagan at the January 20 swearing-in ceremony. It was clear to us who observed this sad situation from an overseas view that the Iranian Revolutionary government had conducted this affair over the last year of the Carter Presidency primarily to undermine the US, but specifically as a slap at President Carter. This in itself is ironic, because the general reaction to President Carter from overseas, and epecially the "Third World," was that now we had a US president who could be trusted, who tried to meet the rest of the world on its own terms, and who wanted to do what was best for the whole world community -- to do what was right. Carter expresses the same disappointed concept of the Iran hostage affair. Perhaps the Revolutionary government of Iran had already been given some word from the Reagan Republican campaign that they would get a special under-the-table deal on arms if Carter were defeated. Who knows why they thougth this was the right approach towards America and its conciliatory president? In this book Carter reveals his approach to personal and international affairs. He wanted to be honest, consistent in his moral consideration for both private and public responsibilities and decisions. This approach to life and relationships was proven in the unprecedented success and acclaim he has been awarded in his post-presidential activities of international diplomacy, peacemaking and counseling to many governments, heads of state and the whole international community. These accomplishments and contributions far outstrip beyond what he do with the restrictions and political hobbles inherent in the jealousies of Washington. Washington, and indeed much of the country at large, could not understand a leader who never hid his sincere, honest and consistent desire to be a moral person as the leader of the nation. They could not understand the approach that decisions were made on the basis of universal principles of right and wrong, not political advantage. This book is inspiring, informative, endearing and challenging in its presenting of a goal of personal integrity in all aspects of life, expressed by this great man. |
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