You can appreciate that I've shared this newspaper front page because of the headline about 99 cent, slice-it-yourself, bacon. Well, maybe the story beneath it about a Middle East peace deal was more important.
When the announcement was made a few weeks ago that 98-year-old former president, Jimmy Carter, had chosen to forego further medical treatment and live out his final days with hospice care at home there was a welter of retrospective pieces and accolades. It was suggested, rightly I think, that he has made his greatest contributions to the world in the 40+ years since the end of his presidency, and that this period was his defacto second term.
I wrote about my admiration for President Carter, as I have in the past. He is a fine Christian at a personal and community level (he taught Sunday School for years), both talking the talk and walking the walk. He has also been a peacemaker on the world stage, although he hasn't shied away from addressing injustice, even when that has made him unpopular.
Recently Ruth was rummaging through one of those totes of curiosities many of us have tucked away for our children to dispose of and she discovered this front section of the Toronto Star from September of 1978. Carter was still president when he brought together Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachim Begin of Israel for nearly two weeks of intense negotiation. The peace accord which emerged included these two adversaries and other nations from the region. The phrase "give peace a chance" in the headline is borrowed from the goofy yet powerful ear worm song by John Lennon.
We were living in Toronto at the time and I was a seminary student. I've always been a Globe and Mail guy but I may have seen the headline and decided to buy the Star because this was such a significant event.
Carter continued his efforts for peace in the years that followed, willing to challenge Israel for its stance regarding the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza and in doing so receiving lots of criticism.
So, we continue to wait and wonder about Jimmy Carter and pray that he is finding comfort with family, friends, and faith in these final days.
Let me tell you now
2 comments:
Great, now I'm going to have that song in my head the rest of the day.
Yes, President Carter has done so much good in his life, especially as you mentioned after his presidency.
When you see a country have decent people as presidents(Carter, Obama), then someone completely vile such as Trump(and possibly a return), it really makes you shake your head.
I could hear you humming from Belleville, Roger, and it wasn't pretty. It's rather bleak when articles about Carter draw comments, sometimes lots of them, condemning him and his accomplishments. Shaking our heads indeed.
Post a Comment