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Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter Quotes

39th U.S. President

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Famous Jimmy Carter Quotes

“I've just finished my 20th book this past year and I'm working on my 21st book about the Middle East right now that I'll finish this year. And I get up early in the morning and when I get tired of the computer and tired of doing research, I walk 20 steps out to my woodshop and I either build furniture or paint paintings. I'm an artist too.”

YearsBookPastArtistWalksStepsMorningMiddlePaintingRight NowComputerResearchTiredPaintFinishedEastGet UpMiddle EastFurnitureUp Early
Author:Jimmy Carter
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“When I speak at my local church, which I try to do 35 to 40 times a year, I try in every lesson to take the Old Testament text or New Testament text and apply them to what is happening to me or how that applies to the audience that I'm teaching in a modern, fast-changing, technological world. I use headlines, interfaith and that sort of thing.”

WorldTryingYearsUseSpeakChurchAudienceTeachingModernLessonsHappeningsLocalsTechnologicalTestamentNew TestamentHeadlinesOld TestamentInterfaithLocal Church
Author:Jimmy Carter
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“When I was president, I announced and I still maintain that I can live with Roe v. Wade. I did everything I possibly could as president under that ruling, which I don't think ought to be changed, to minimize the need for abortions. I think every abortion is a result of a horrible series of errors on the part of people involved.”

PeopleThinkingNeedsStillsI CanPresidentResultsChangedOughtInvolvedErrorsSeriesHorribleAbortionRulingWadeRoe V Wade
Author:Jimmy Carter
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“It is clear that global challenges must be met with an emphasis on peace, in harmony with others, with strong alliances and international consensus. Imperfect as it may be, there is no doubt that this can best be done through the United Nations, not merely to preserve peace but also to make change, even radical change, without violence.”

InspirationalMayDoneStrongNationsChallengesUnitedBusinessClearDoubtViolenceMetsHarmonyInternationalImprovementRadicalPreservesNo DoubtImperfectEmphasisUnited NationsConsensusAlliancesRadical Change
Book:The Jimmy Carter Library
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“We will have an unchallenged, open, panoramic opportunity on a global scale to demonstrate the finest aspects of what we know in this country: peace, freedom, democracy, human rights, benevolent sharing, love, the easing of human suffering. Is that going to be our list of priorities or not?”

KnowsInspirationalHumansCountrySufferingOpportunityChallengesBusinessDemocracyRightsAspectHuman RightsListsPrioritiesScalesFinestBenevolentHuman SufferingSharing Love
Author:Jimmy Carter
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“Forgiving is one of the most difficult things for a human being to do, but I think it means looking at some slight you feel, putting yourself in the position of the other person, and wiping away any sort of resentment and antagonism you feel toward them. Then let that other person know that everything is perfectly friendly and normal between you.”

ThinkingKnowsFeelsHumansMeanPersonsDifficultHuman BeingsPositionNormalForgivenessAngerForgivingFriendlyResentmentDifficult ThingsAntagonismAnger And ResentmentAnger Resentment
Author:Jimmy Carter
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“One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and spiritual confrontations, there should be an honest attempt at the reconciliation of differences before resorting to combat”

ShouldSpiritualPoliticalPoliticsNationsPeaceDifferencesMoralPrinciplesHonestMilitaryConflictForgivenessResolutionCombatReconciliationConfrontationConflict ResolutionBasic PrinciplesMoral PrinciplesWin WinPeace Within
Book:Living Faith
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“We are grossly wasting our energy resources and other precious raw materials as though their supply were infinite. We must even face the prospect of changing our basic ways of living. This change will either be made on our own initiative in a planned and rational way, or forced on us with chaos and suffering by the inexorable laws of nature.”

WayMadeFacesLawSufferingEnergyNatureAnimalMaterialsResourcesInfiniteChaosRationalInitiativeLaws Of NatureRaw MaterialsInexorable
Author:Jimmy Carter
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“It would be naïve to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the problems ... However, with faith and perseverance, ... complex problems in the past have been resolved in our search for justice and peace.”

ThinkingHas BeensProblemWould BePastHumanityPeaceJusticeStudyComplexesPerseveranceResolvePeace And JusticeComplex Problems
Book:Negotiation, the Alternative to Hostility
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“In the final analysis, true justice is not a matter of courts and law books, but of a commitment in each of us to liberty and mutual respect.”

BookMatterLawJusticeLibertyRespectCommitmentCourtFinalsAnalysisMutualMutual RespectLaw BooksTrue Justice
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Jimmy Carter, 1978, Book 1: January 1 to June 30, 1978
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“The Superfund legislation set up a system of insurance premiums collected from the chemical industry to clean up toxic wastes. This new program may prove to be as far-reaching and important as any accomplishment of my administration. The reduction of the threat to America's health and safety from thousands of toxic-waste sites will continue to be an urgent but bitterly fought issue-another example for the conflict between the public welfare and the profits of a few private despoilers of our nation's environment.”

MayImportantAmericaScienceNationsIssuesEnvironmentExampleHealthIndustryConflictProveWasteProgramSafetyThreatCleanEnvironmentalProfitAdministrationWelfareAccomplishmentReachingChemicalsToxicSiteLegislationUrgentReductionHealth And SafetyPublic WelfareToxic Waste
Book:Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President
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“According to Gandhi, the seven sins are wealth without works, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, and politics without principle. Well, Hubert Humphrey may have sinned in the eyes of God, as we all do, but according to those definitions of Gandhi's, it was Hubert Humphrey without sin.”

WellsMayCharacterEyeScienceHumanityWealthSinPleasurePrinciplesKnowledgeSacrificeHard WorkMoralityWorshipConscienceSevenDefinitionsCommerceBiographiesWithout SacrificeSeven Sins
Book:Jimmy Carter
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“If we do not learn to eliminate waste and to be more productive and more efficient in the ways we use energy, then we will fall short of this goal [for the Nation to derive 20 percent of all the energy we use from the Sun, by 2000]. But if we use our technological imagination, if we can work together to harness the light of the Sun, the power of the wind, and the strength of rushing streams, then we will succeed.”

IfsWayUseLightTogetherScienceFallEnergyNationsGoalImaginationSunImagineWindHard WorkSucceedWastePercentStreamsProductiveWorking TogetherEfficientTechnologicalRushingHarness
Author:Jimmy Carter
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“In the year 2000, the solar water heater behind me, which is being dedicated today, will still be here supplying cheap, efficient energy. A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people: harnessing the power of the Sun to enrich our lives as we move away from our crippling dependence on foreign oil.”

PeopleLifeYearsStillsTodayMovingScienceEnergyWaterBehindsPowerSunTakenPiecesOur LivesGenerationsExampleAdventureExcitingCuriosityOilMuseumsDedicatedEfficientDependenceSmall PartsForeign OilRoad Not TakenExciting Adventures
Author:Jimmy Carter
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“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself”

ShouldUseIndividualDrugIndividualityPossessionPotWeedAnarchyMarijuanaPenaltiesProhibitionWar On DrugsCannabisDrug UseHempMedical MarijuanaSmoke WeedFunny MarijuanaIllegal DrugsFunny WeedDrug ProhibitionFunny DrugGanjaDrug LawsGreat WeedCool MarijuanaDrug PolicyMarijuana LegalizationMarijuana Prohibition
Book:White House Diary
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“We live in a time of transition, an uneasy era which is likely to endure for the rest of this century... During this period we may be tempted to abandon some of the time-honored principles and commitments which have been proven during the difficult times of past generations. We must never yield to this temptation. Our American values are not luxuries but necessities - not the salt in our bread but the bread itself.”

MayHas BeensPastValuesDifficultPrinciplesGenerationsCenturyPeriodsCommitmentEndureBreadTemptationLuxuryErasAbandonPatrioticYieldTransitionSaltProvenHonoredTemptedDifficult TimesUneasyAmerican ValuesPast GenerationsTimes Of Transition
Author:Jimmy Carter
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“Because (grandparents) are usually free to love and guide and befriend the young without having to take daily responsibility for them, they can often reach out past pride and fear of failure and close the space between generations.”

PastYoungSpaceResponsibilityGenerationsPrideGuidesReach OutGrandparentGrandchildrenFear Of FailureSpace BetweenGrandpaChildren And GrandchildrenParents And GrandparentsGrandparents DayGrandchildren And GrandparentsFunny GrandparentHappy Grandparents DayBest Grandparents
Book:Jimmy Carter
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“Acknowledging the physical realities of our planet does not mean a dismal future of endless sacrifice. In fact, acknowledging these realities is the first step in dealing with them. We can meet the resource problems of the world - water, food, minerals, farmlands, forests, overpopulation, pollution - if we tackle them with courage and foresight.”

IfsWorldFirstsMeanDoeFactsProblemRealityWaterStepsEnvironmentSacrificePlanetsFutureResourcesEndlessForestsFirst StepsPollutionEcologyOur PlanetForesightMineralsOverpopulationFarmland
Book:Jimmy Carter
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“In 1891, during the Presidency of William Henry Harrison [Benjamin Harrison], electric lights were first installed in the White House, the residence of the leaders of our country. At that time, commercial electricity was not economically feasible, but President Harrison wanted to affirm his confidence in the technological capability of our country.”

FirstsCountryLightWantedHousePresidentWhiteLeaderTechnologyEconomyOur CountryWhite HouseCapabilityElectricTechnologicalElectricityPresidencyResidenceElectric Light
Book:Jimmy Carter
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