Jimmy Carter came to town the other day to promote his new book and it was fun to be a fly on the wall and watch the uproar he caused. Jewish protesters were on one side of the street screaming anti-semitism and Palestinian people were on the other screaming back at him that Carter had hit the nail on the head. The conservative talk show hosts were on the attack in a renewed vigor I haven't heard since Clinton's blowjob was exposed.

Now you all know I'm an atheist and it really has always struck me odd that I have a fondness for an ex-President that has professed such a deep and fundamental Christian faith but he's always made it a point to keep that part of him private and strongly support the separation of church and state. He has also been the most honest man I've ever witnessed in the political forum, a trait that probably led to his downfall from power. Obviously the man is not an anti-Semite and he felt compelled to write the book he did because of an undying belief in what he saw was going on in Palestine and Israel.

What this got me really thinking about though, and I put it in Flame because of its real potential of becoming a very contentious issue, is that it seems to me as an outsider with considerable knowledge of the writings of the Bible (I was a Christian for much of my younger years) Carter completely exemplifies the teachings of Jesus himself as laid out in the New Testament. He's a "turn the other cheek" type of guy, always giving to others especially the meek and oppressed, a skilled negotiator that seemed to bring out the peaceful side of arch-rivals, and a protector of the Earth and its resources. I can't think of any of the 10 Commandments that he doesn't live by even though he professed to lusting a few times in his life in an old Playboy interview. His family is well-adjusted, bright, and non-judgmental and his marriage has been long and loving.

Now let's contrast this with our present Commander In Chief. He seems to believe in using armed conflict to solve his problems. From what I remember, Jesus never advocated violence to fix problems. His most aggressive act was basically the driving out of the money changers which doesn't sound like more than just a burst of anger and a turned over table and could easily be seen as a blow against the abuses of capitalism. GWB seems to cater to the wealthy, clearly at odds with passages of the Bible disparaging the accumulation of wealth and power. His policies often target social and educational programs who's main recipients (right or wrong, that's not the issue here) are the poor and downtrodden. He was governor of a state that set records for the number of people executed while on his watch. He's vocally on the side of anti-gay legislation which tends to divide segments of our society and lessen their standing among other humans. He seems to not care about the impact of man on the environment. He clearly lies often.

This just doesn't make sense then that the party that hangs their hat so clearly on Christianity seems so out of touch with the document they base their religion on. Carter is villified by the right as some sort of demon and embarassment and GWB is made out to be some moral compass even though their actions seem to clearly reverse those roles based on reading the Bible as a whole.

Doesn't this strike anyone else odd? I'm particularly interested to hear a justification from our hard-core Christian right members on this. How can you so obviously just throw away the teachings of a man who, as the messenger and son of your God, seemed to say that GWB and his policies would never fit among his flock? That must be an awful dilemna to live with.

By the way, despite my own profound respect for Carter, I'd prefer some balance between stength and compassion for our highest office holder. However, despite our country's problems during his presidency, I was much more proud to be an American during his reign than I am right now.

Art