Jimmy Carter, Hero for Human Rights
By, Rev. Susan P. Wilder, Co-moderator of PJN
In a fire, I would first grab my signed copy of former president Jimmy Carter’s book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. For all the criticism he received for that book, we now know that he was right.
On a day in late fall of 2006, I signed out our three elementary age kids from school for a very special event: A book signing at the local B. Dalton with the former president himself. I wanted them to meet, or at least glimpse from afar, one of my true heroes. It was Carter’s integrity that most impressed me. Undaunted by critics, he remained steadfastly true to his faith and values.
It was four hours in line (for me; the kids were able to head off to the children’s book section) but it went by quickly with the camaraderie of kindred spirits chatting as we waited. At 5:30 Carter gave an impressive town-hall style interview, and I thought then that he made more sense than just about anyone I’d heard speaking on the Middle East.
For the book signing, the former president sat about 20 feet behind a velvet rope and as admirers streamed by, signed books and smiled in greeting. When we got close enough for me to hand his assistant my book to sign, I also handed an invitation for Carter to speak at an “End the Gaza Siege” rally that DC advocates would be holding in early December.
Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter protest in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in October 2010. (Bernat Armangue/AP)
He wasn’t able to join our rally, and we hadn’t really expected he could, given his busy schedule and the fact that the rally was coming up very soon. But what has impressed me to this day is the thoughtful letter we received from his assistant on Carter Center stationery, graciously declining and thanking us for the opportunity.
As the kids and I passed along the velvet rope before Carter, I was stunned when he looked directly at us and spoke. “Great looking family you have there,” he said to me. I was dumbfounded, and could not think of a thing to say except, “Thank you, Mr. President.” He went on to say, “Are you thinking of having a fourth?” In awe that we were apparently having a conversation, I just smiled and laughed awkwardly. Bailing me out, he said, “You find that funny? We had three, and then a long time went by and finally we had a fourth.”
In starry-eyed shock, all I could think of was to say again, “Thank you, Mr. President.”
Peace, not apartheid. That is what we are seeking. And we will keep at it, with President Carter’s unwavering commitment to human rights inspiring us every day.
Thank you, Mr. President.