The first night of the Democratic National Convention the delegates and guests heard a video presentation from former President Jimmy Carter that addressed poverty and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. At the conclusion of the video President and Mrs. Carter took the stage to loud applause. It was an honor for me to be there to watch the Noble Peace Prize winner. He has spent all these years after leaving the White House working to address poverty and war through the Carter Center. He has a wisdom about him that is rooted, I think, in his deep faith. President Carter knows what it means to be a peacemaker.
Tonight I've been watching the documentary Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains. Here's how the filmmakers describe their work:
Man From Plains is an intimate, surprising encounter with President Jimmy Carter. Following the path of Mr. Carter's recent controversial book tour for Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, Academy Award© - winning director Jonthan Demme reveals a complex individual who, with the gusto and determination of a youngster, criss-crosses the country to get his message across, even as that message creates a media onslaught in which his credibility and judgment are called into question. Man From Plains explores both the private and public sides of Jimmy Carter, whose intense sense of justice compels him to pursue, with undiminished energy and hope, his lifelong and deeply spiritual vision of reconciliation and peace.
What President Carter has always offered the American people (and the world for that matter) is an example to live by. He has made controversial statements and put forth controversial proposals that have in different moments of his public life made him unpopular. That doesn't seem to matter much to President Carter. What seems to matter more is that President Carter understands that his unique place in history affords him the opportunity to push nations toward peace. He offers a moral voice on both foerign and domestic issues that cannot be ignored.
