Jimmy Carter's Most Inspiring Quotes
Jimmy Carter was never short on accolades—the Nobel Peace Prize-winning advocate, author, painter, and public speaker was America's longest-lived president, reaching the age of 100 before his death on December 29, 2024.
Beloved for his folksy wisdom, the former president was famously quotable. From his thoughts on his profound faith to his political career to his nearly 80 year marriage to wife Rosalynn, here are some of Carter's most inspiring and memorable quotes.
On America:
"America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense... human rights invented America."
"We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams."
"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."
On politics and faith:
"I have one life and one chance to make it count for something. I’m free to choose that something. … My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can."
"You can't divorce religious belief and public service I've never detected any conflict between God's will and my political duty. If you violate one, you violate the other."
"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."
On his wife, Rosalynn:
"I’ve never won an argument with her; and the only times I thought I had I found out the argument wasn’t over yet."
"The best thing I ever did was marrying Rosa."
On geopolitics:
"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn to live together in peace by killing each other's children."
"Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease."
"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."
"Because we are free we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere."
"The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices."
On life:
"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.'"
On nature:
"Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries."
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