Carter seeks moral revival in wake of U.S. social shifts
Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis
November 18, 2005
Former U.S. presidents are becoming more visible of late. George Bush and Bill Clinton, for example, recently took on important tasks related to the Asian tsunami victims as well as those displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
In his new book Our Endangered Values, former President Carter launches a more philosophical mission, publicly lamenting recent changes in America that threaten to strangle the nation's customs and moral commitments. He is deeply troubled by societal shifts - both in religion and politics - that are tarnishing the image of the United States and threatening to permanently divide our own citizens.
Carter has never been one to shy away from discussions of right and wrong. In his previous best-seller, Living Faith, this deeply religious Southern Baptist discussed openly the values that shaped his personal and political life. His humanitarian work is legendary, particularly at The Carter Center, a nonprofit organization aimed at preventing and resolving conflicts, enhancing freedom and democracy, and improving health worldwide. For this he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
In this somewhat slim volume, written in the straightforward manner of a text, Carter moves smoothly and quickly from one topic to the next, spelling out the issues that trouble him most.
One concern is a trend toward a more intense form of fundamentalism, where militant and often abusive authoritarian males consider themselves superior and subjugate women.
From there, he segues into a wide range of public issues. For example, Carter makes it clear that he isn't happy about the way the United States deals with "illegal enemy combatants" in the wake of 9/11. Their blatant mistreatment flies in the face of Geneva Convention policies, he writes.
Carter details the U.S. practice of transferring certain prisoners to countries that condone torture, where they are then subjected to techniques that are "indescribably terrible," such as the partial boiling of a hand or arm, a torture that has been reported by a U.S. ambassador. In at least two cases, he writes, this resulted in prisoners being boiled to death.
The former president also discusses science vs. religious beliefs, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, the death penalty, preemptive war and environmental threats. "America is by far the world's leading polluter," he writes, "and our government's abandonment of its responsibilities is just another tragic step in a series of actions that have departed from the historic bipartisan protection of the global environment."
Carter believes the greatest challenge of the new millennium is closing the gap between the world's rich and poor. He points out that while the average American family makes $45,000 a year, more than half the world's people live on less than $2 a day, and 1.2 billion live on just a dollar a day. Nevertheless, he says, the United States shares just 16 cents of every $100 with poor nations, instead pouring money into the military budget. "It now exceeds $400 billion annually, equal to the total in all other nations combined."
While the book is reactionary in style, it offers little in the way of recommendations for change. Carter simply calls for a revival of the moral values for which the United States has struggled the last 230 years.
At the book's rather abrupt conclusion, he takes a dig at government policy (fueled by huge political contributions) that bows to the firearms and tobacco industries, despite the fact that they're both producing products that contribute more to death than to life.
Regarding guns, he says, "The National Rifle Association, the firearms industry, and compliant politicians should REASSESS THEIR POLICIES CONCERNING SAFETY AND ACCOUNTABILITY"(caps his). As for tobacco companies, he remarks that they "have won the much more important battle by blocking any effective federal regulations of carcinogens in their highly publicized products."
Carter may not have the answers, but he well knows where the problems lie. This book is a worthy read for those who are concerned about the nation's problems and want to see the issues spelled out more clearly by someone who has shared in the secrets and responsibilities of the Oval Office.
Verna Noel Jones is a freelance writer for the Rocky Mountain News, the Chicago Tribune and various magazines. She lives in Aurora.
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