What would our present imperfect and fragile world look like now if it were not for the legacy of President Jimmy Carter? This humble, quiet man:

• created the Department of Education.
• bolstered the Social Security system.
• appointed record numbers of minorities to government jobs and federal judicial positions.
• choreographed the Camp David Agreement of 1978 that brought about amenity between former enemies Egypt and Israel.
• renegotiated the Panama Canal agreement.
• established full relations with China.
• crafted the Salt II negotiations with the Soviet Union, helping to avert nuclear disaster.
• taught Sunday School into his 90s.
• built homes for Habitat for Humanity, also into his 90s.

These are just a few — a very few — of Carter’s accomplishments both as president and former president, leaving a legacy that few, if any, former presidents will ever be able to match.

What would our world look like today without him? I’ll humbly presume to answer that question for President Carter, who was a man of deep faith: “I was simply an instrument of God’s peace.”

Without Jimmy Carter’s faith in action, this world, admittedly troubled as it is, would be a much darker place than it is today.

Rev. Louis Phillips
Windham