Jimmy Carter in Power Lines, by Jason Carter

On Foreign Policy: Gap between rich & poor is widening globally

I had been invited to appear with my grandfather at the Global meeting of Generations, and the Peace Corps had encouraged me to go. My grandfather and I were to have a moderated conversation, on stage, to demonstrate the value of intergenerational dialogue.

We discussed what we might say onstage. I knew that he was going to speak about the widening global gap between the rich and poor, how stingy America is in giving foreign aid, and how Africa in general receives too little attention. I would talk about being young, a member of my generation. I tried to explain why we often don't vote or seem to care about world issues. I told him we were alienated from the world's debate over "major issues" because we did not see how those issues affected us. We could not muster the energy to march for small changes in the tax laws on international capital mobility. We needed some new rallying cries, something to latch onto as a cause.

Source: Power Lines, by Jason Carter, p.217-8 Jun 1, 2003

On Principles & Values: His mother and grandson both served in Peace Corps

The basic character of the Peace Corps is represented in the experiences of my 70-year-old mother, who served in India, and of my 22-year-old grandson, who went to South Africa. It is intriguing to consider the differences and common themes of her tour in Vikhroli, a village near Bombay, and his in Lochiel, a small community just north of Swaziland.

Jason lived and worked in an isolated and poverty-stricken community among people struggling to outgrow the ravages of apartheid, but he was always just a few miles or computer strokes away from an advanced and prosperous 1st world society.

Jason's experiences were remarkably similar to those of Lillian Carter, who felt that she had completed her life's work as a mother. She responded to a TV recruitment call for Peace Corps volunteers, with "Age is no limit!" flashing across the screen, and decided to seek a final opportunity for challenge and adventure. She asked to go where people had dark skin, were poor, and needed medical care.

Source: Power Lines, by Jason Carter, p. ix-x Jun 1, 2003

On Welfare & Poverty: Being "rich" means decent home, education, & health

My grandfather delivered the graduation address at my school. He said, among other things, that all of us sitting in that stadium were rich. "I'm not talking about bank accounts," he said. "A rich person is someone who has a decent home, a modicum of usable education, and access to reasonable health care. Rich people like us feel that the police and the judicial system are on our side and think that if we make a decision, it'll make a difference, at least in our own lives." And then he went on to ask how many of the rich people in that stadium knew a poor family well enough to invite them over for dinner, or go to their house and have a cup of coffee. He suspected it was very few. "Why is that?" he asked. "We tend to live in an isolated environment which we create, and we rarely look toward other people as equal or deserving." He then told stories about several of his friends, "rich in every way, who decided to live their lives among the poorest people on Earth." Source: Power Lines, by Jason Carter, p. 6 Jun 1, 2003

The above quotations are from Power Lines Two Years on South Africa's Borders by Jason Carter. Click here for other excerpts from Power Lines Two Years on South Africa's Borders by Jason Carter. Click here for other excerpts by Jimmy Carter. Click here for a profile of Jimmy Carter.
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