Former President Jimmy Carter served only one term in the White House but he had a long legacy of service after his term in Washington, D.C. was over.
Here are some inspiring quotes from the 39th president in his own words, from The Carter Center’s tribute page:
“I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over … No poor, rural, weak, or black person should ever again have to bear the additional burden of being deprived of the opportunity for an education, a job, or simple justice.” - Inaugural Address as Governor of Georgia, January 12, 1971
“We are, of course, a nation of differences. Those differences don’t make us weak. They’re the source of our strength.” - Al Smith Dinner, New York, October 21, 1976
“In this outward and physical ceremony we attest once again to the inner and spiritual strength of our nation. As my high school teacher, Miss Julia Coleman, used to say: ‘We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.’” -Inaugural Address, January 20, 1977
“We have learned that ‘more’ is not necessarily ‘better,’ that even our great nation has its recognized limits, and that we can neither answer all questions nor solve all problems.” - Inaugural Address, January 20, 1977
“Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern. This difficult effort will be the ‘moral equivalent of war’ — except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not destroy.” - Speech on national energy policy, April 17, 1977
“I want to stress again that human rights are not peripheral to the foreign policy of the United States. Our pursuit of human rights is part of a broad effort to use our great power and our tremendous influence in the service of creating a better world, a world in which human beings can live in peace, in freedom, and with their basic needs met adequately.” - Remarks at White House commemorating 30th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, December 1978
“We all hope and work and pray that we will see a world in which the weapons of war are no longer necessary, but now we must deal with the hard facts, with the world as it is. In the dangerous and uncertain world of today, the keystone of our national security is still military strength, strength that is clearly recognized by Americans, by our allies, and by any potential adversary.” - Remarks to the Business Council, December 12, 1979
“America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense, it’s the other way around. Human rights invented America.” - Farewell Address to the Nation, January 14, 1981
“To me, faith is not just a noun, but also a verb.” - From “Living Faith” by Jimmy Carter, 1996
“The greatest challenge we face is how to reduce the growing disparity between the rich and poor people on earth.” - Speech in Taiwan, March 1999
“War may be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children. The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices. God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes—and we must.” - Nobel Peace Prize Lecture, December 10, 2002
“Peace is more than the absence of war. There is an inner peace that comes from personal security and personal freedom. Peace also includes the sense of a mother and father that their children will live, that they’ll have food for them to eat, and that they won’t be subject to a lifetime of suffering that could have been prevented.” - Carter Center News, Spring 2003
“The abuse of women and girls is the most pervasive and unaddressed human rights violation on Earth.” - From “A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, & Power” by Jimmy Carter, 2014
“We have an ethical obligation, I think, to prevent suffering wherever we can. Meeting this obligation is very dear to us at The Carter Center.” - House Of Lords Lecture, London, February 3, 2016
“In our democracy, the only title higher and more powerful than that of president is the title of citizen. It is every citizen’s right and duty to help shape the future legacy of our nation.” - Jimmy Carter Op-ed, December 8, 2016
“Rosalynn and I have strived to advance human rights in countries around the world. In this quest, we have seen that silence can be as deadly as violence. People of power, privilege, and moral conscience must stand up and say ‘no more’ to a racially discriminatory police and justice system, immoral economic disparities between whites and blacks, and government actions that undermine our unified democracy. We are responsible for creating a world of peace and equality for ourselves and future generations.” - Jimmy Carter Statement, June 3, 2020
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