This was the first book I ever read by former president Carter. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this certainly wasn’t it. Today it seems hard to imagine that one of our most deeply spiritual presidents was a Democrat. Our Endangered Values describes the rise of the Christian right and the danger this posses. Carter is simple and elegant, using examples from his own life to illustrate how our values have become endangered by a religious/political movement. ( )

It's been a long time since I started and finished a book in one night - and I never expected former president Jimmy Carter's book to be such a fast read.

The more I find out about this man, the more I admire him. I was only 6 when he became president - and I knew three things about him. He was a former farmer, he had a brother named Billy and (later) he was the president during the Iran hostage crisis.

Since I've gotten older and since he's gone on to do many admirable things on the world stage, I've come to move him high up on my list of great people.

"Our Endangered Values" only reinforces that belief. These are essays on many of the issues that trouble me as I look at the horribly wrong direction our country is headed - and I now know that Carter is even more worried than I. (I didn't think that was possible!) He, of course, has been intimately involved in many of the most pressing issues of our time, and has met many of the world leaders involved.

Most of the book is tied into his Christian faith in some way, most powerfully, I think, when he talks about the rise of fundamentalism in the world. Not only Islamic fundamentalism, which seems to jump to mind first, but also Christian fundamentalism - a trend I find almost as scary. Maybe more so, at times, because I feel it affecting our country every day, and not in positive ways. He points out that fundamentalists of any faith have the following in common: They are led my authoritarian males who have an overwhelming commitment to subjugate women and to dominate their fellow believers, they believe the past is better than the present, they are convinced that they are right and that anyone who contradicts them is ignorant and possibly evil, they are militant in fighting against any challenge to their beliefs...hmmm - sound remarkably like the idiot in the White House!

By the end of the book, I found myself almost feeling worse for Jimmy Carter than for our country. Those institutions and people in which he had such faith are failing him and are heading down paths he is no longer willing to follow.

Carter writes with great emotion, and clearly refutes neoconservative arguments on abortion, the death penalty, the war in Iraq. (I was appalled by this fact: 90% of all executions are carried out in just four countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States. In fact, our nation and Somalia (which has no organized government) are the only two that have refused to ratify the International Covenant on the Rights of the Child, which prohibits execution for crimes committed by children. Nice company we're in.)

I found myself moved by his dismay and amazed by some of his facts, but I didn't finish the book with any sense of purpose. He does not offer much of a solution to the problems that are facing our country. He very clearly writes against what we should not be doing but doesn't really tell us what we should be doing to stem this tide.

I guess I can always look at my "Bush Countdown" clock for that... ( )

I've always been amazed that the country was so concerned about
whether Carter would be a good President because he was a professed
"born again Christian," and yet in the years after his term ended,
suddenly (according to the devout fundamentalists across the country)
belief in God was mandatory, the Bible scriptures held all the answers,
and God suddenly became property of only the Republican party. All
Democrats were labeled as godless liberals who reveled in killing
babies, adding massive programs to an already too-big government, and
were probably just a shade less sinister than the Red Communists with
their cries for affordable national health care programs. That's why Carter's moderate voice and considered opinions as put forth
in this book are so needed right now. No one can argue that this isn't
a highly intelligent, God-fearing man who lives his faith every day of
his life and has a unique perspective on government, having been there
and done that. He takes on the "fumdamentalist" views on everything
from gay marriage and abortion, to tax cuts, the horrifying new doctrine
of pre-emptive war, science and religion, church and state, the
subservience of women, environmentalism, and the sharp and growing
difference between rich and poor in this world. His is a clear and
intelligent voice, crying in the wilderness, justifying so-called
"liberal" view-points, and asking, somewhat rhetorically, "What Would
Jesus Have Done About Iraq?" He's trying to get America to open our
eyes about the unfair and unAmerican policies of the new Conservatives
who seem to have taken over our government. He's confronting the
"neocons" where they stand, on pulpits across America, and demanding an
explanation of how the Bush Doctrine of Pre-Emptive War can co-exist
with a Christian philosophy of turning the other cheek or even with our
own American history. He exposes something that I have long suspected
was true: that the foreign and environmental policies of this country
are being based, incredibly, on dogma from the Book of Revelations. No
need to take care of the earth because it's going to end soon anyway.
Back Israel, right or wrong, because that's how it's got to be.

Carter makes it obvious that the policies and doctrines of the current
government are paving the way for the fall of America and the
destruction of some of our basic values. This book was a joy to read,
the voice of a moderate who just happens to be a Democrat. It makes
total sense and finds the common ground between both parties and plans.
Whether you are Christian or atheist, Pagan or Jew, there is common
sense in this book that will appeal to that part of you that USED to be
a proud American. I'd recommend this book if you are at all interested
in politics or the direction this country is heading and why. ( )

The former President takes a look at contemporary politics through his own spiritual worldview. Highly biographical, Carter explores changes in the government and his church over the past thirty years. He like many is concerned of the growth and power of Fundamentalism in public life over this time. Nothing much new here just a summation of liberal Christian values and what damage is being caused by those who think opposite.

“You only need two loves in your life: for God, and for the person in front of you at any particular time.” – Reverend Eloy Cruz, p. 23

“I believe that anyone can be successful in life, regardless of natural talent or the environment within which we live. This is not based on measuring success by human competitiveness for wealth, possessions, influence, and fame, but adhering to God’s standards of truth, justice, humility, service, compassion, forgiveness, and love.” - p. 28

“When we recite the Lord’s Prayer and pray for God’s kingdom on earth, we are asking for an end to political and economic injustice within worldly regimes.” – p. 178 ( )

I admire former President Jimmy Carter very much. I voted for him when he was elected President and when he lost his bid for reelection due to the Iran hostage situation. In this book he expresses his strong support for the separation of church and state and his concern that fundamentalist religious fanatics have been endangering the moral fiber of American society. He also discusses how such fundamentalist political influence has been embraced by the Bush administration to a point that endangers our human rights, our democratic way of life, and our country’s stature among the nations of the world. He discusses the death penalty, environmental degradation, nuclear arsenals, terrorism and the melding of religion and politics. It’s a very personal, but well presented work that I enjoyed very much even though it did make me somewhat sad. ( )