Jimmy Carter: The Conscience of Our Planet

How I long for the clear moral thinking of President Jimmy Carter. As he wrote in today’s Washington Post:

Israel moved yesterday to withhold funds (about $50 million per month) that the Palestinians earn from customs and tax revenue… the likely results will be to alienate the already oppressed and innocent Palestinians, to incite violence, and to increase the domestic influence and international esteem of Hamas.

I felt the same way about one year ago while shopping for tofu-based celery stalks in the food co-op. (Let the Tofu-Stalks age a few weeks, and they crunch like celery, too. Or you can accelerate the aging process by joining the freegans at the co-op dumpster.)

Anyway, some young men entered the store and threatened to shoot the clerk unless they were given all the money in the store. I felt sorry for these young men. After all, what sort of monster could feel bitterness towards anyone stealing a loaf of bread to feed their family? And so, I urged the clerk to hand over all the money in the store, and whatever was in his wallet, too.

In almost the same words that Jimmy Carter used, I cried, “Please give them all of your money, your credit cards, your ATM cards, and all of the associated PINs and passwords. They are oppressed and innocent, and your denial to give them money will only alienate them, incite them to violence, and increase the influence of bad role models.”

The clerk, distracted by me, hesitated -- and the young men, understandably enraged by our racist culture, began beating him. Because I abhor violence, I immediately left the store and ran home. I heard gunshots behind me, and wept for the hungry young men who were being brutalized by our cruel society.