Jimmy Carter: Our Endangered Values

I am a huge fan of Jimmy Carter. No former president since the founding of the republic has been a more effective leader. After four years in command of the world's most powerful armies and its most bountiful treasury, Carter proved that moral leadership outside Washington can be even stronger. On a world-wide scale, Carter as former president has done more for democracy and human rights than anyone in history.

So when Carter's new book came out, it moved right to the top of my reading list. Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis sounds from the title like a depressing book, but I found it just the opposite. It's not just another review of the genuine evils of our current national leadership; it explains what's great about America by contrasting it with how bad things can get when we temporarily lose our faith, discipline, and confidence. You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone, but we can get it back.

The book is written in the first person, but is not primarily autobiographical. As a southern Baptist, Carter's actions in the public sphere are closely connected to his faith. But his faith is personal. In Baptist tradition (indeed, across most Protestant denominations), God works directly through each heart, not through any organization or government. People of faith have responsibilities, exercised by free one-on-one communication, and by setting a good example; not by counter-productive tactics of force or pressure.

There is a real backlash against religion underway right now in the US, because of the over-reach of certain politicians who pretend to be religious people, and the willingness of many followers to be fooled by the allure of fundamentalism. The solution, perhaps counter-intuitively, is greater participation from people who recognize the true responsibilities of faith.

Much like Bill Richardson, whose book I reviewed last week, Carter is a fearless statesman, whose first problem-solving instinct is to talk, not shoot. The book analyzes numerous international conflicts, from Cuba to North Korea, where America has lost its nerve and chosen to use hostility rather than negotiation, only to make matters worse. We have little to fear from these countries, yet unscrupulous leaders exaggerate the danger in order to consolidate power and avoid accountability. Sure, some of these countries are demanding and high-maintenance. But all of us have high-maintenance friends, relatives, and co-workers in our own lives, and we learn how to deal with it.

Carter sees the world's biggest challenge in the new millenium as the widening gap between rich and poor. He notes that in the Bible, the relationship between rich and poor is one of the most frequently discussed issues. Today, the twenty richest nations are more than 100 times wealthier per capita than the 20 poorest nations. While a handful of large and visible nations, previously poor, are successfully building their economies, this is not the prevailing pattern.

Americans pride themselves in their generous response to highly visible catastrophes, such as the recent Asian tsunami. But among industrialized nations we are the least generous overall, contributing only 22 cents out of every $100 of our income toward helping less fortunate people in other nations. This includes all donations from public, private, and individual contributors, of which almost 3/4 is from government. This is less than 1/3 of the generosity of Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, or Norway.

We could satisfy basic human needs, and spur internal investment, in all of the poor countries of the earth if developed nations could increase their level of aid to 70 cents per $100 of income. The countries just mentioned are already there. For comparison, the increase in US defense spending between 2001 and 2005 is $1.70 per $100 of income, and tax cuts during that period have been $3.30 per $100 of income. We can certainly afford this, and we should have the confidence to make it a national goal. Nearly all of these countries share our ideals and could successfully invest in themselves, starting with food, shelter, medicine, and education, if they had anything to invest.

This weekend is the start of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Forget political correctness, I hope you will celebrate all three, as I will. Three times the fun. I wish you a joyous time with your family, friends, and faith.