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Jimmy Carter: Philosophy
In the presidential campaign of 1976, Carter avoided foreign policy concerns as much as possible. The Georgia Democrat felt that recent presidents had focused to much on global concerns brought about by the Cold War and had neglected domestic concerns. Although world dealings may not have been his principal issue, the electorate still knew where Carter stood in respect to foreign policy. When he announced his candidacy in 1974, Carter wanted to show an example to the rest of the world of “courage, compassion, integrity, and dedication to basic human rights and freedoms.” During the general election of 1976, Carter was openly critical of the cloak and dagger style of foreign policy under Kissinger. Carter later wrote that he was “deeply troubled” by the lies the past administrations told the American people. He felt that Americans had been totally excluded from the shaping of the policy towards Vietnam, Cambodia, and other Cold War hot spots. Carter believed that the US foreign policy should reflect the basic goodness and charity of the people of the nation. To Carter, morality was “the best foundation for the exertion of American power and influence.” The new president was convinced that the US could become “a beacon light for human rights throughout the world.” After his inauguration, however, he found this policy more difficult than he had perhaps anticipated. After discussions with his closest advisor, Press Secretary Jody Powell, Carter felt that speaking out against Soviet human rights violations would not adversely effect US-Soviet relations because he wasn’t singling out the Soviet Union as the only nation that violated human rights. Carter was wrong. Just one week into his presidency, Carter denounced the Soviet Union for breaking the Helsinki agreements in their treatment of Czechoslovakia. The Soviets were furious that the US broke what they saw as an agreement not to comment on each other’s internal affairs. After this incident, Carter found that implementing his policy of a moral foreign policy only became more difficult, both domestically and abroad. Nevertheless, Carter felt that the US should do what was right, not necessarily what was politically expedient. As Carter’s popularity at home shrank and US-Soviet relations crumbled, Carter forged on with his ideal of a good man leading a good nation. |
Philosophy
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