Gaza Ceasefire is an Opportunity

Thank God for the recent ceasefire in Gaza. It's almost impossible to imagine a way forward toward lasting peace in the region, between Israelis and Palestinians. This is one of the world's most difficult and painful conflicts and obviously requires a lot of careful work. Deep and compassionate listening will be crucial, as it always is when seeking reconciliation and peace, no matter the scale—from interpersonal conflict to conflicts between nations and other groups. It is a simple and profound truth, here articulated by Thich Nhat Hanh and Oprah Winfrey several years ago:

Love: The Center of Nonviolence

Martin Luther King, Jr. was deeply influenced by Jesus and Gandhi, both of whom taught the importance of love. “At the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love,” King said to the War Resisters League in 1959. It is not enough to resist using physical violence; we must avoid the internal violence of our spirits. The following year, King confessed that he had been tempted to consider that loving one’s enemies really is something we should only apply at the individual, person-to-person level while a “more realistic approach” is the right path when addressing bigger things: social problems or conflicts between nations. But Gandhi’s teaching of satyagraha—truth-force—changed his mind. When we commit to always seeking the good of others, recognize the humanity of our adversaries, and trust love as a creative and redemptive force, we are holding on to and expressing deep truths. 

There are deep divisions in our nation and our world, some of which will likely be on display today if we look around. We should remember that the way of peace is a love that allows no room for physical violence, for sure, but also allows no room for the internal violence of our spirits, hearts at war with others. How can I recognize and value the humanity of my adversary? Are they speaking something I should listen to and learn from? How can I be open to hearing it? It can be hard to ask these questions and even harder to answer them with our lives. It is much more normal to shut out my adversaries, to hate them, to ridicule them in my heart or to my friends, to draw attention to their failures, and then, if possible, to try to get them to change their ways by some coercion. This is normal but very unfortunate because this means that I still have a heart at war and a violent spirit. It does not align with the truth of nonviolence founded on love. King taught a better way.

In Memoriam: Jimmy Carter

The life of James Earl Carter, Jr., the 39th President of the United States of America (1977-81), provided me an up-close introduction to politics at an impressionable age. In 1976, I was a second grader living in middle Georgia, a few hours’ drive from Carter’s rural hometown of Plains. My brother and I accompanied my parents and their friends as they campaigned for him on days’ long car drives around south Georgia. We waved green-and-white posters at intersections, attended speeches and parades, wore “Jimmy Carter for President” T-shirts and pins (I saved the one in the photo), and visited small businesses to deliver brochures. Because Carter had served prior as a State Senator from Georgia (1963-67) and Governor of Georgia (1971-75), his hallmark smile and dialect were familiar to me. From my perspective, at the time of his Presidential run, Jimmy Carter was not a new public figure. But he represented for me novel directions for public life and offered a fresh point of reference for what a committed political life could achieve.

An exemplar of servant leadership, Carter exhibited a commitment to peace during and long after his time in the Oval Office. As President, perhaps his most notable achievement was his mediation of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He invited Anwar El-Sadat, President of Egypt, to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, at Camp David in 1978 with an aspiration of reaching a peace agreement. Although the talks did not yield a withdrawal of Israeli settlements from the West Bank, Egypt did formally recognize Israel, and elected governments were established in the West Bank and Gaza. The Camp David Accords were instrumental in closing a longstanding conflict between Israel and Egypt and marked the first treaty between Israel and any Arab country. Carter had said that one of the greatest goals of his life was to bring peace to Israel, and expounded on this idea in his 2006 New York Times Bestseller, Peace Not Apartheid.

His post-Presidency years are often lauded for his volunteerism, both close to home and abroad. He helped build houses with Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization founded in Americus, Georgia, that aims to help low-income families build and own safe, decent, and affordable housing. Carter had been instrumental in early promotion of the organization and volunteered construction time well into his eighties. In Atlanta in 1982, he founded The Carter Center with the purpose of advancing human rights, alleviating human suffering, and improving the quality of life for people in 80 countries. He observed and monitored 113 elections in Africa, Asia, and Latin America through The Carter Center’s Democracy Program and fought disease through the Center’s River Blindness Elimination Program (cartercenter.org).

Source: Habitat.org

Throughout my adulthood, I have visited Carter’s Boyhood Farm in Plains, Georgia multiple times and attended numerous “Conversations at The Carter Center” in Atlanta. I heard Rosalynn Carter speak passionately about mental health issues at a Rotary Club meeting in Macon in the 1990s. The most memorable occasion was hearing Jimmy Carter teach an adult Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains in the early 2000s. Sitting in the first few pews of a modest church, listening to him expound upon the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den, and then meeting him in the churchyard afterwards, will remain with me as a salient, enduring memory.

The life of Jimmy Carter (1924-2024) impacted millions of people, improving health and housing for vulnerable populations worldwide. His commitment to peace through diplomacy and conflict resolution remains central to his legacy. His efforts to find peaceful solutions to international discord, as well as advancing democracy and human rights, were acknowledged by a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. His humility and spirituality that served as a foundation to his political views affected me profoundly as a young person and have served as a role model to me well into adulthood. May he rest in peace.

—Dr. Katie Brown, Dean, College of Arts & Sciences, Ashland University