Now & Then & Etc

At least once a week, often on a Sunday (my day of rest and catch up), I read or listen to, or I watch some story of someone doing good, to refresh my spirit and to recharge—knowing that there are people working toward the good.

Recently I read a People magazine commemoration edition about Jimmy Carter (Jimmy Carter: A Life of Service and Devotion [New York: Dotdash Meredith, 2025).

As President Joe Biden said on the day that Jimmy Carter died, “For anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning—the good life—study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility” (4).

Carter did good during his political life in Georgia and during his presidency (such as his brokering the ending of wars between Egypt and Israel), but he didn’t stop when his presidency ended. He leveraged his prior position.

Jimmy and Rosalynn established the Carter Center as a “place to help people who want to resolve disputes” (63) and to benefit humanitarian causes close to them (64). They worked to reduce the incidence of trachoma (which causes blindness) and of guinea worm; they helped set up groups to treat war-caused mental illness; they built houses with Habitat for Humanity; they campaigned tirelessly for free and fair democratic elections in places where such elections were in question (64); and Jimmy continued to teach Sunday school for adults at Marantha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia until late in life (67).

A life of great good. A life of principle, faith, and humility.