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| Jimmy Carter - Kind, Caring, and Always Smiling. What a Legacy!
I'm in the middle (literally) of reading Jimmy Carter's A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety. Wow. I am blown away by Jimmy Carter. What a life. And Officer and a Gentleman is an understatement, for the phenomenal brilliance and steadfastness of this incredible man. How lucky America was to have Jimmy Carter as a President - I loved him as an American President, from my own perspective, in Canada, back then, always knowing how incredibly intelligent he was, and what a World Peace-Keeper (values very close to our hearts, in Canada), but I am just in awe of all the incredible accomplishments of Jimmy Carter. I had no idea.
And, sad to say, even though I have lived and worked in the States for many years (I'm back in Canada, now, but maybe the doors to Immigration will be more open to Canadian H1-B Visas, again, soon), I was shocked and deeply saddened to see the deep-rooted racial divide that Jimmy Carter describes in his book, A Full Life. I can only imagine what a different country it would be, now, if Jimmy Carter had gotten another term in Office, if the racial divides we see, today, would not have been erased.
It is nauseating to read that teachers were fired in Georgia if they belonged to the NAACP, or did NOT support racial segregation. Omg. That makes me shiver. How horrendous is that? Shocking. Makes me want to cry, as I write this. I Thank God I was raised in Canada, with open and loving parents, and we lived in a culturally diverse place, everyone equal. Oh, My Goodness, no wonder things are so awful, for so many people, far too many people, in the United States. In 2015. It is beyond shocking for me to read about this.
I am so glad that Jimmy Carter has written this beautiful memoir, to tell the full story of what his life entailed, and how he evolved with every change and turn in the road - and there were many.
The brilliance and kindness of this man are written in every word. I hope this book can be incorporated into High School and College Courses, so everyone can have a deeper understanding of what has been, and where you can go, from here.
I just came over to the computer to Tweet out a quote from the A Full Life, and then ended up writing this, but here's the quote, and Jimmy Carter says he said this at his Inauguration as President of the United States, and when he received his Nobel Peace Prize, and attributed to his teacher, Miss Julia Coleman...
"You must accommodate changing times but cling to unchanging principles."
I hope you can get a chance to read Jimmy Carter's brilliant and beautiful books - you can get them from your Local Library, too - and if your Library has an online account, which I hope it does, you can 'order it' through your library, too. and advocate for Jimmy Carter's books to be in every school library, and incorporated into an excellent class curriculum.
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This link will take you straight to Jimmy Carter's brilliant book, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power. (I get a wee something from each sale through my links, too, so, thank you so much!)
Wow. I just finished reading Jimmy Carter's new book, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power. I'm trying to breathe through it - what a powerful book, and a critical read to bring a much more egalitarian world for all women and girls. It's very interesting the role religion plays in keeping women in submissive roles, allows the many religious organizations to claim scripture that they can sometimes manipulate to oppress women. Horrifying. Has certainly been used against me, in my own life. I had a horribly abusive first marriage. He loved to use the Bible against me, and I was very religious, at the time. I still am deeply religious, but am less involved in the Church, now, unfortunately, and, Thank God, I was finally able to get away from that monster, and live a happy and fear-free life. Living in constant fear of your life is horrific, and if you happen to be reading this, and recognize those words as true to your own life, please make a plan of action of your own to get out as quickly as you can. And seek out a good lawyer before he can get to every lawyer in your town, since that quickly and easily prohibits you from using that lawyer - a very common technique that abusers seem to know all about, but I had to find out about, the hard way...
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| Jimmy Carter - Kindness Personified |
Oh, man, just trying to wrap my head around what I've just read in Jimmy Carter's A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power. It's a tough read, no doubt about it, but if we could get people around the world to read this incredibly well written book, very incisive, very serious book, then Jimmy Carter could make even greater progress, in continuation of his work (along with his wife, Rosalynn) through The Carter Center, to bring equality, safety, education and healthy lives, to women and girls around the world.
Okay, well, this is getting a lot more personal than I intended it to be - scary for me, since the laws don't protect women - in addition to what Jimmy Carter calls for around the world, I would like to see better law enforcement for women of domestic violence to have solid protection for themselves and their children, before something horrific happens. Even getting a restraining order, in many parts of Canada, is very difficult, and not particularly useful, since I was told that the physical attack had to happen before the police could take any action. That's disgusting. Jimmy Carter mentions in his book, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, that there is a GPS device that can be used for the police to keep track of abusers. This seems like a step in the right direction.
Also, I think the biggest difference in dealing with abusers is if MEN did not allow or tolerate known abusers. If a man knows another man is abusing his wife, girlfriend, child(ren), or any other women (or men), don't accept it. I know this can be very difficult, but men are, of course, the key to turning things around for women. And OTHER WOMEN, too - I know, personally, I had more grief from leaving my marriage from other women - ugh. Makes me sick to think about it. These women would rather that I stay in an abusive marriage, for the sake of the institution of marriage. Disgusting. So we need men AND women, to get on board with everyone becoming equal, in our own realities, in all of our own lives, so we can all prosper, live nice, happy lives, free from fear and violence - surely that's not too much to ask for?? It's 2014, for God's Sake. Really, let's do it for God's Sake, for that real meaning.
Well, sorry for this being so serious... when I was watching Jimmy Carter on David Letterman, they had to have a similar, really difficult conversation, because this is really serious stuff, but at the end of the interview, Dave leans over to Jimmy Carter and says, "I thought you would've been a little funnier"...very funny! Lightened up a difficult topic. And it is a very good book. You will feel enlightened about what is going on around the world, and very shocked and surprised by much of what you read, and how many lives Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center have saved and made so much better - in the millions - what a remarkable man and what a great cause! And, then, hopefully, you will feel a Call to Action, too, see what each of us can do to make the world a happier and safer place for everyone - won't that be nice? Okay, be kind to yourself and all others (unless they're horrible! lol!) Ailsa This link will take you straight to Jimmy Carter's brilliant book, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power.
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