These Jimmy Carter quotes and sayings will inspire you to live your life on high values.
James Earl Carter Jr. was born on October 1, 1924, is an American philanthropist, former politician, and businessman. From 1977-1981, Carter served as the 39th president of the United States. From 1971-1975, before becoming the president of the US, Carter served as Georgia State Senator and as the Governor of Georgia.
Carter set an example of high integrity and self-discipline and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in co-founding The Carter Center in 2002. He remained active politically and socially even after retiring from the post of president and did his job as a private citizen.
We can learn so many lessons about life, faith, and humanity from this brilliant self-disciplined man and apply them to our life for personal growth. So here we are sharing a collection of Jimmy Carter quotes and sayings for you to inspire and become the best version of yourself.
Jimmy Carter Quotes
“We should live our lives as though Christ was coming this afternoon.”
― Jimmy Carter
“Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.”
― Jimmy Carter
“Spirit is like the wind, in that we can’t see it but can see its effects, which are profound.”
― Jimmy Carter
“I have one life and one chance to make it count for something… My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”
― Jimmy Carter
“Republicans are men of narrow vision, who are afraid of the future.”
― Jimmy Carter
“We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.”
― Jimmy Carter
“We cannot know the mystery of the future.”
― Jimmy Carter, Just Peace: A Message of Hope
“We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.”
― Jimmy Carter
“We cannot ignore our gift of the future.”
― Jimmy Carter, Just Peace: A Message of Hope
“America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense… human rights invented America.”
― Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter Famous Quotes
“When people are intimidated about having their own opinions, oppression is at hand.”
― Jimmy Carter
“Human identity is no longer defined by what one does but rather by what one owns.”
― Jimmy Carter
“God always answers prayers. Sometimes it’s “yes.” Sometimes the answer is “no.” Sometimes it’s “you gotta be kidding.”
― Jimmy Carter
“We cannot change the history of the past.”
― Jimmy Carter
“The life of every human being on earth can depend on the experience, judgment, and vigilance of the person in the Oval Office.”
― Jimmy Carter
“If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement.”
― Jimmy Carter
“You only have to have two loves in your life: for God, and for the person in front of you at any particular time.”
― Jimmy Carter
“In every instance that I have known of with confrontation with the government and the press, the press was always right. So keep it up.”
― Jimmy Carter
“the total capacity of the brains of Neanderthals has been found to be greater than that of modern humans.”
― Jimmy Carter, Faith: A Journey For All
“I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around
the world, this administration has been the worst in history…
The overt reversal of America’s basic values as expressed by
previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush
and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the
most disturbing to me.”
― Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter Quotes On Faith
“Go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.”
― Jimmy Carter
“Just an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery.”
― Jimmy Carter
“For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land.”
― Jimmy Carter, U.S. Presidential Inaugural Addresses
“I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I’m free to choose what that something is, and the something I’ve chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”
― President Jimmy Carter
“What are the things that you can’t see that are important? I would say justice, truth, humility, service, compassion, love. They’re the guiding lights of life.”
― Jimmy Carter
“The excessive punishment of prisoners and the use of the death penalty in the United States, alone in the developed world, have continued to fall most heavily on the poor, mentally ill, and people of color. It was on this subject that I made the best speech of my life.”
― Jimmy Carter, A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety
“And I’m asking you for your good and for your nation’s security to take no unnecessary trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever you can, to park your car one extra day per week, to obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to save fuel. Every act of energy conservation like this is more than just common sense — I tell you it is an act of patriotism.”
― Jimmy Carter
“It seems somewhat illogical to say, “You have violated God’s commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ so therefore I will kill you.”
― Jimmy Carter, Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis
“For the first time, we recognized a medium that takes our ordinary, everyday objects like bowls, baskets, and quilts and elevates them to art forms that rival painting and sculpture in their impact.
(From the forward to “Crafts in America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects.”
― Jimmy Carter
“He noted that Christ himself, although the Son of God, was always gentle with those who were poor or weak. He went on to say that he tried to follow a simple rule: “You only have to have two loves in your life: for God, and for the person in front of you at any particular time.”
― Jimmy Carter, A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety
President Jimmy Carter Quotes
“You have given me a great responsibility—to stay close to you, to be worthy of you, and to exemplify what you are. Let us create together a new national spirit of unity and trust. Your strength can compensate for my weakness, and your wisdom can help to minimize my mistakes.”
― Jimmy Carter, U.S. Presidential Inaugural Addresses
“A person should have as our goal complete agape (self-sacrificial love). The most we can expect from a society is to institute simple justice.”
― Jimmy Carter, Faith: A Journey For All
“This is a present from a small distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts, and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours. We hope someday, having solved the problems we face, to join a community of galactic civilizations. This record represents our hope and our determination, and our goodwill in a vast and awesome universe.”
― Jimmy Carter
“I never considered disobeying an order or even a request from Daddy. I loved and admired him, and one of my preeminent goals in life was to earn his approbation. I learned to expect his criticisms, always constructive, but his accolades were rare. My”
― Jimmy Carter, A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety
“She drove down from North Carolina to see me, and reminded me of scriptural lessons that tragedies and disappointments should be a source of increased patience, strength, wisdom, and a commitment to our Christian life. I rejected her premises at first, but Ruth finally convinced me to relegate my political and business ambitions to a secondary position of importance for a while and to assume some challenging religious commitments.”
― Jimmy Carter, Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis
“He explains the true character of the God of love and reassures us that ultimate power on earth will be good, not evil. It is through God and his Son that I strive to understand the world in which we live.”
― Jimmy Carter, Faith: A Journey For All
“As we ask God for some blessing, we have an obligation to participate ourselves in the fulfillment of those dreams, aspirations, hopes, and ideas.”
― Jimmy Carter
“My faith demands – this is not optional – my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”
― Jimmy Carter
“When our mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters are considered both different and inferior in the eyes of the God we worship, this belief tends to permeate society and everyone suffers.”
― Jimmy Carter, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power
“I’m not in favor of the government mandating a prayer in school because our country was founded on the fact that no particular religious faith would have ascendance over or preferential treatment over any other.”
― Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter Funny Quotes
“God is not my personal valet. God does not build a protective fence around my life, keep me from trouble, fulfill my personal desires, or guarantee my success. However, through prayer, God offers me comfort, reassurance, satisfaction, courage, hope, and peace.”
― Jimmy Carter, Faith: A Journey For All
“Our Center would be nonpartisan; we would be as innovative as possible, not duplicating or competing with other organizations that were addressing issues successfully; we would not be afraid of possible failure if our goals were worthwhile; and we would operate always with a balanced budget. The”
― Jimmy Carter, A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety
“Later, when Bob Hope came to visit us, he made a wisecrack about being a Republican, and I announced that he would be moving from the Lincoln Bedroom to sleep in Amy’s treehouse.”
― Jimmy Carter, A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety
“This is a present from a small, distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours.”
― Jimmy Carter
“Ours was the first nation to be founded on the idea that all are created equal and all deserve equal treatment under the law. Despite our missteps and shortcomings, these ideals still inspire hope among the oppressed and give us pride in being Americans.”
― Jimmy Carter
“A country will have authority and influence because of moral factors, not its military strength; because it can be humble and not blatant and arrogant; because our people and our country want to serve others and not dominate others. And a nation without morality will soon lose its influence around the world.”
― Jimmy Carter, Faith: A Journey For All
“I realize that violence is not more prevalent today than in previous periods of human history, but there is a difference. We have seen visionary standards adopted by the global community that espouse peace and human rights, and the globalization of information ensures that the violation of these principles of nonviolence by a powerful and admired democracy tends to resonate throughout the world community. We should have advanced much further in the realization of women’s rights, given these international commitments to peace and the rule of law.”
― Jimmy Carter, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power
“We cannot be both the world’s leading champion of peace and the world’s leading supplier of the weapons of war.”
― Jimmy Carter
“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marijuana in private for personal use… Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce [28g] of marijuana.”
― Jimmy Carter
“We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.”
― Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter Sayings
“The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens. As Americans, we are blessed with circumstances that protect our human rights and our religious freedom, but for many people around the world, deprivation and persecution have become a way of life.”
― Jimmy Carter
“We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. By acting now we can control our future instead of letting the future control us.”
― Jimmy Carter
“Failure is a reality; we all fail at times, and it’s painful when we do. But it’s better to fail while striving for something wonderful, challenging, adventurous, and uncertain than to say, ” I don’t want to try because I may not succeed completely.”
― Jimmy Carter, Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith
“Earlier in my life I thought the things that mattered were the things that you could see, like your car, your house, your wealth, your property, your office. But as I’ve grown older I’ve become convinced that the things that matter most are the things that you can’t see — the love you share with others, your inner purpose, your comfort with who you are.”
― Jimmy Carter
“The bottom line is this: Peace will come to Israel and the Middle East only when the Israeli government is willing to comply with international law, with the Roadmap for Peace, with official American policy, with the wishes of a majority of its own citizens–and honor its own previous commitments–by accepting its legal borders. All Arab neighbors must pledge to honor Israel’s right to live in peace under these conditions. The United States is squandering international prestige and goodwill and intensifying global anti-American terrorism by unofficially condoning or abetting the Israeli confiscation and colonization of Palestinian territories.”
― Jimmy Carter, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid
“A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It is a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity.”
― Jimmy Carter
“I believe that anyone can be successful in life, regardless of natural talent or the environment within which we live. This is not based on measuring success by human competitiveness for wealth, possessions, influence, and fame, but adhering to God’s standards of truth, justice, humility, service, compassion, forgiveness, and love.”
― Jimmy Carter, Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis
“I have one life and one chance to make it count for something . . . I’m free to choose what that something is, and the something I’ve chosen is my faith. Now, my faith goes beyond theology and religion and requires considerable work and effort. My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”
― Jimmy Carter
“War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always evil, never good. We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.”
― Jimmy Carter, The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture
Did these Jimmy Carter quotes inspire you?
We need more people like Jimmy Carter who focus on finding peaceful solutions for all the problems. He had traveled so many countries to conduct peace negotiations, monitor elections, and advance disease prevention.
Let’s celebrate his characteristics traits and hope to learn a couple of them too. We hope you will take a few things from these Jimmy Carter quotes and apply them to your life to give them more meaning.
Do share your thoughts with us in the comment section and tell us which one was your favorite Jimmy Carter quotes or if you want to ask any questions or have any query send them via Contact Us
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