a man from plains

[thoreau]

So - tonight I got some tickets to a screening of "A Man from Plains" - a Jonathan Demme documentary about President Jimmy Carter. I will be attending with Eric M., the irrepressible Eric P. and visiting guest and honorary Eric - Ian. (aka the visiting bostonian georgia 'peach' that is bear_left).

My personal fascination with Jimmy Carter started very early. He was the first president I can remember talking on the TV - where I realized WHO was talking. He was elected in 1976 - I was in the 3rd grade. My father - a rabid conservative - HATED Jimmy Carter - and then lauded Ronald Reagan when he came to a landslide victory over Carter in 1981. By 1981 - I was an 8th grader - and becoming politically aware. by the end of Reagan's terms in office - I had graduated - spent four miserable years in the US Military - exposed to the very worst kind of political conservative zealots who gloried at serving under Reagan and his cronies vs. the wimps of the Carter administration.

then came Carter's REAL influence - winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 - his drive for peace in Palestine and Israel, North Korea, China - and on the homefront. He's been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's policies both here at home around Katrina and foreign oil dependency - and Bush's war "based upon lies and misinterpretations."

Carter inherited in the white house - a broken America. Nixon and Vietnam left the country listless and broken. While many wouldn't list Carter's presidency as a bright spot in our history - I think he did the best he knew how. (i hate that current conservatives use that same or similar language to describe the America the Shrub inherited from Clinton) Carter's REAL accomplishments came AFTER his presidency - when most folks retire to Kennebunkport on their giant estates or in their Manhattan high rises - and make money talking and ruminate about their presidential library designs.

I used to revel in arguing with my father that Carter did more for the world than Reagan.

Reagan only knew how to bully - a terrifying trait that the Shrub learned and has implemented with permanent damage to our foreign policy and reputation abroad as a people. Carter is a constant voice for peace.

Carter, armed with a strong sense of southern faith, comes to the table to help people discuss their differences. He doesn't come to the table as the "deciderer" - he comes to the table as the peacemaker. It's a legacy that makes Carter one of my political heroes.

I'm really excited about tonights show.

(trailer for the documentary here at a linky)