Habitat has opened up unprecedented opportunities for me to cross the chasm that separates those of us who are free, safe, financially secure, well fed and housed, and influential enough to shape our own destiny from our neighbors who enjoy few, if any, of these advantages of life.
Interpretation
Carter highlights the disparity between those with privileges and those without, emphasizing the importance of using opportunities for social equity.
In this quote, Jimmy Carter reflects on the significant gap that exists between privileged individuals and those who lack basic necessities and freedoms. He recognizes how Habitat for Humanity has provided him with the means to contribute toward bridging this gap, advocating for social justice and the importance of uplifting those who are less fortunate. The essence of his message underscores a moral responsibility to leverage one's advantages in life to support and empower others in need.
In practice
During a speech about social responsibility, I quoted this to emphasize the need for equitable development.
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.
The preeminent obstacle to peace is Israel's colonization of Palestine.
I would say the biggest handicap we have right now is some nutcases in our country that don't believe in global warming. I think they are going to change their position because of pressure from individuals, because the evidence of the ravages of global warming is already there.
If I were president, I'd be very glad to see the Palestinians have a nation recognized by the United Nations. There's no downside to it.
My understanding of racial discrimination as a child was highly distorted because the most prominent man in Archery was an African-American bishop. When he came home from up north, where he was in charge of A.M.E. churches in five states, it was front-page news. He was the most successful man in my life.
Our American values are not luxuries but necessities, not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself. Our common vision of a free and just society is our greatest source of cohesion at home and strength abroad, greater than the bounty of our material blessings.
The Godhead is never an object of its own knowledge. Just as a knife doesn't cut itself, fire doesn't burn itself, light doesn't illuminate itself. It's always an endless mystery to itself.
A lot of jobs don't allow you to be who you are. There is dignity in work only when it is work freely accepted.
We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes.
The things that have acquired unity are these: Heaven by unity has become clear; Earth by unity has become steady; The Spirit by unity has become spiritual; The Valley by unity has become full; All things by unity have come into existence.
No matter how big and powerful government gets, and the many services it provides, it can never take the place of volunteers.
Hypocrisy means deliberately pretending. None of us lives up to his ideals; none of us is all that he would like to be or all that he could be in Christ. But that is not hypocrisy. Falling short of our ideals is not hypocrisy. Pretending we have reached our ideals when we have not - that is hypocrisy.
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