Friday, July 17, 2009

Thank you, thank you, thank you, President Carter!!


I've always admired the man. Sure, he had his faults. But his work for Habitat for Humanity, his humility and his downright civility have endeared him to many.

And today, in his 85th year, he completely blows me over with this:

"This view that women are somehow inferior to men ... has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries. The male interpretations of religious texts and the way they interact with, and reinforce, traditional practices justify some of the most pervasive, persistent, flagrant and damaging examples of human rights abuses. ... It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. ... The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable."

—Former President Jimmy Carter, who has, after six decades, severed his ties with the Southern Baptist Convention because of their institutional gender inequality

H/T Shakesville

14 comments:

  1. Amen! Or should that be Awomen now?

    Equality for all is what we need.

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  2. Good for him, particularly going to the lengths of ending a long-standing commitment. Though I don't remember him doing anything that dramatic for women when he was president. Am I wrong?

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  3. For a man who is as deeply Christian as Mr. Carter is, it must be a huge step to dissociate from the Southern Baptist Convention. It's amazing how long it takes for some to see what has been going on for thousands of years, but I guess it's like fish in the ocean, takes a while to recognize what water is.

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  4. Good for him, I always did take a shine to him and he proved again why today.

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  5. Great! He deserves a standing ovation for that.

    Coincidentally, WWW, I read another piece about Jimmy Carter yesterday from a blog I discovered recently, called The Buddha Diaries. Post is called Obama Part V. You might be interested.

    http://thebuddhadiaries.blogspot.com/

    Not sure if that link will work, but there's a link to the blog on my sidebar if not.

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  6. Nick:
    I think it took him a while to wake up, like a lot of men. So many don't. And it takes enormous courage at his age to admit it!
    XO
    WWW

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  7. Annie:
    His daughter might have had something to do with it and Rosalynn. I said to one of my brothers recently: How can you support a church that despises your wife and daughter? And his mouth fell open. He had never looked at it that way before.
    XO
    WWW

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  8. Irene:
    Me too. There was always a genuine innocence to the man, wasn't there? I've always been surprised he chose politics.
    XO
    WWW

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  9. What Twilight recommended.
    Great blog.
    XO
    WWW

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  10. It seems he found "his" true self when he is not serving the public. Maybe we need to look at our political system before praising him. Why could he not say all these wonderful things when is part of the system? Why fight for human rights or women rights when one is NOT part of the system?

    just a thought? :)

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  11. Mr Carter formally left the the Southern Baptist Convention in late 2000 (http://www.baptiststandard.com/2000/10_23/pages/carter.html). He did so not because of a change of heart on his part but because of a change in doctrine on the part of the SBC, which made it a mandatory element of faith that women should submit to their husbands. Carter could not continue to associate with the SBC because of that fundamental parting of the ways, as he had always believed in the equality of men and women, both secularly and spiritually. A careful reading of Carter's speeches while in office will show that he was one of the very few American Presidents who did speak out on controversial issues, and I do not think there is much evidence that he has fundamentally changed either his beliefs or his propensity to speak out honestly.

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  12. The Catholic Church is just as bad at times, i was not born Catholic but married into it. They have such a major male hierarchy it's not funny. They do not preach about women being submissive but trust me they live it by keeping women in the back ground when it comes to their faith,and being able to work in the church. Dot K

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