Like most people, this past Wednesday was a very special day in our nation’s history. As has been the case every four years, it was the start of a new administration. It was the chance to start anew and dream of a future with greater ideals and potential for everyone. It’s still too early to determine whether this was ultimately a success, but there was some relief in seeing the process play out, as it normally has, for centuries now. The fact that we’re less than two decades off from having a 250th anniversary is insane to me. But still, there’s something about watching a presidential inauguration that gives me hope.
Among the things that this got me thinking about was my general fondness for presidential history. While I’m far from being a scholar, I used to consume knowledge with such regularity that I pretty much grew up believing in The American Dream. It was for everyone. We are a melting pot, a land of compromise, ever-evolving. While there’s plenty that attaches to our foundation, there is never a point where the country should grow stagnant and rest on what came before. The words “a more perfect union” acknowledge the imperfections and the need to try and reach an unachievable perfection. While most would see this as futile and hopeless, I see this as the main draw of this country.
It’s what I felt listening to Joe Biden’s speech. For those 21 minutes, I felt the potential of this new era to meet the challenges. Of course, it also reminded me of what came before, where the former president failed to attend the ceremony and instead vamoosed to his own estate while shouting “Have a nice life!” to anyone who would listen. It was tacky, but arguably the best way to summarize how things have been the past few years. Whenever there’s been a hand reaching out, he’s been closing the doors to Air Force One, ready to go golfing and potentially order another Diet Coke from his butler.
I think of this in relation to someone that I hold dear. Of every president in late-20th century history at least, there is nobody I admire more than Jimmy Carter. I’m sure many would call him the greatest post-presidency President in history. After all, we know him mostly as the man who even into his 90s was building homes for Habitat for Humanity. He gave these speeches of unity and even in his most scathing moments had this purity about him that made his Baptist upbringing not sound trite. The fact that one of his biggest news stories over the past few years was that he shook everyone’s hand on an airplane (in a safer time) only shows his integrity. He cares about the common man, even as he celebrates 40 years out of The Oval Office.
I also think of him in relation to how history remembers him. As we look at The 45th President leave unceremoniously, I’m reminded of Carter’s writing in “The White House Diaries.” For starters, he wrote meticulously every day about his time in office. He believed that he would be more transparent with the public, especially since Watergate was only a few years old. While it ends with his own admission of faults, the thing that I’m fascinated by is that despite it being strictly about those four years and very little else, it ends not with him going to an inauguration that he didn’t enjoy, but that he stayed and continued his job.
No, this isn’t some “election was stolen” conspiracy jargon. It was actually because around this time, there was The Iran Hostage Crisis. While he hadn’t completed it during his administration, he sought to stay on and negotiate. Given his penchant for claiming that he was one of the few war-free presidents in modern history, it made sense how much he portrayed the idea of international diplomacy. Even if there were a few bumps along the way, he sought to do his best and do what’s right for The American People. As a result, his story doesn’t end with heading back home to Plains, GA and drinking Billy Beer. No, it ends with him continuing to fight for causes he believed in.
Some will falsely claim that his successor Ronald Reagan deserved credit for closing the negotiations. After all, he was briefly into his presidency when the news was announced. For as much as Reagan was the shinier new toy who knew how to spin media, it was Carter’s humbleness that ultimately made the difference. It’s hard to believe from a modern perspective, but having selfless leaders was once important. He took responsibility for his problems, even once notoriously giving a speech where he claimed that the nation was having a “crisis of confidence.” Sure, this came during a strange mix of economic and environmental issues that he sought to (and failed to) get under control. In that respect, he was a bum leader. However, the fact that he presented a moment with such honesty and vulnerability is still astounding.
I bring this up this week because of everything that the past few weeks have symbolized. The fact that some people (myself included) were terrified on January 19, 2021 that something would go wrong, that someone would be attacked, only shows how much dishonesty hurts the country. The fact that a speech about, of all things, decency is what drove the day only showed the values in starker contrast. While every president has tried to capture morale in their own way, Biden tried to suggest that compassion and compromise were fundamental tools. They’re things I personally believe in, and I hope that he delivers on every word.
The final thing that I’ll mention in regards to the inauguration is that there are times where I’m reminded of Biden being a major campaigner for Carter during the 1976 election. As a young senator, Biden believed in his cause and sought to make a difference. Much like 2021, that was a time when the country was divided because of a questionable presidency. While I personally think that Gerald Ford gets a bad rap because of Richard Nixon, there is still something admirable that as was the case 45 years ago, when Carter went door-to-door in Iowa to introduce himself leading up to the caucus, that Biden is doing similar.
In some respects, I admire Carter so much that I personally was optimistic that whoever was elected in 2020 was going to be this generation’s equivalent. I know to some that is a terrifying sight (and means a potential Reagan surrogate isn’t far behind), but to me, it’s the idea of reflecting values not by why we’re great, but how. It’s the idea of helping each other instead of ridiculing. Much like how Carter was bipartisan, able to consult Ford during moments of crisis, I want to believe that Biden will restore that sense in this country. As much as I know that no side will ever agree, I do believe that this land was built on compromise and that history is a conversation that we must have if we ever hope to better ourselves.
I understand patriotism in this light is difficult given the many forward movements and setbacks from even the best of leaders. I’ll admit it was difficult to find joy in an American flag over the past four years, but I wanted to believe that those freedoms meant more when people fought for them and sought to make the country a better place. I see more potential in optimism than by using degrading imagery for bumper-sticker selling points. Disagreement is inevitable. How we handle it is another story.
There is a part of me that feels like Carter as a president has been forgotten to history, at least by younger generations. If you start at John F. Kennedy, you’ll find that everyone since has had some flashy accomplishment. Even Ford goes further simply by pardoning Nixon, and at worst George H.W. Bush is the other George Bush. Carter meanwhile exists more as a joke, and I think it’s as funny as it is unfair. On the one hand, having The Simpsons dub him (comically) “history’s greatest monster.” He could never be. Even if it was abundantly clear that he was religious and had preacher vibes at times, he never let his beliefs overshadow the potential for democracy to reflect the people, that all walks could come together for a shared experience.
In a lot of respects, he’s still nowhere near as interesting as those other men. His accomplishments were designed more towards peace, and that’s not nearly as sexy as ending The Cold War or procuring Civil Rights. Even then, I think there’s plenty to learn from his accomplishments in those years. He fought for peace and actually stuck to his plan fairly well. It may have not always worked out and his honesty maybe made him look weak, but it all paid off in the end. He did something that all leaders should do, which is restore confidence in those who elected them to do the right thing. I can only hope Biden does his mentor justice in that department.
Comments
Post a Comment