Jonathan Reckford - Our Better Angels: Seven Simple Virtues That Will Change Your Life and the World

Ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things. Over the course of my life, Ive witnessed just how true that is. These days, it seems to me that its more important than ever that we remember it.

Its understandable that we sometimes feel helpless. Our world is full of issues that are not easy to solve. But it is also full of people like you and me who can make a start. Rosalynn and I have always believed in doing whatever we can for as long as we can to help those around us and to change this world for the better. One of the ways weve been able to do that most consistently has been through our involvement with Habitat for Humanity. This book is full of the kind of transformative stories that weve seen again and again in our more than thirty-five years of building with them around the world. I always feel, after a build, that Ive received as much as I have givenor more. Thats the feeling that keeps me coming back.

Its also the feeling that keeps me thinking about the kind of help that Habitat offers: one person offering their hand to another in a time of need and doing so in a way that has a positive effect on everyone fortunate enough to be a part of it. Thats what this world needs more of.

The commentary below was inspired in the days immediately after Hurricane Harvey caused such extensive destruction in Houston and in so many other communities in its path. In the aftermath of that 2017 stormand of so many others before and sinceI find inspiration. The way we respond to a disaster should be a template for the way we respond to each other every day. It really could be that simple. And that profound.

There are always those in need of help. There are always those in a position to offer it.

When a disaster like Harvey strikes, I often see glimpses of the world I first knew.

One of the things I remember most clearly about my childhood in rural Georgia was the notion that neighbors were more than just the folks who lived next door or down the road. Neighbors were people you could count onand people who could count on youwhenever a need arose.

It was hard to feel truly alone with your troubles in such a close-knit place. No one ever had very much, but everyone felt a kinship, a responsibility, to each other that I believe helped shape how I see the world today.

I think its how most of us see the world in the days after something like Harvey. Who could possibly remain unmoved by the scenes of damage and despair that come out of the affected areas? And yet there are also equally powerful images of regular peopleindividuals just like you and mewho come alongside those who are suffering and offer comfort, support, and resources.

When the water rises, so do our better angels. Ive seen it again and again. We all have. Pick a past disaster, and Ill tell you at least a dozen stories that stand as living testaments to our collective compassion, generosityand unity.

And its not just disasters. Rosalynn and I have seen this impulse in our work around the globe. Anytime people come together in common purpose, miracles happen. Weve seen elections proceed fairly, houses go up, diseases nearly disappear. But only because people of goodwill make it so.

Unfortunately, we all know thats not the world we live in every day. Instead, we seem trapped in a never-ending storm of rancor, divisiveness, and distraction. How much could we accomplish together, though, if we were able to see the world every day the way we see the world after a disaster? Neighbors in need. People with resources. All of us in this together.

This is what the people of Texas and Louisiana deserve from us as they begin the long road of recovery.They deserve our best selves, the ones who see suffering and move to address it, the ones who understand their responsibility to help the most vulnerable among us, to help their neighbors. These disasters dont disappear when the flood waters recedeand neither should our better angels.

The good that comes from those times of action creates a healing halofor those who are suffering and for those who are able to help. In our work with The Carter Center and Habitat for Humanity, Rosalynn and I always get back so much more than we give. The joy of helping others is truly a privilege that we cherish, and we know just how much you, how much all of us, can benefit from that same feeling.

Habitat has always been the most effective way for me and Rosalynn to live out our faith. The response to Harvey is a perfect opportunity for you to join us. When you help Habitat help families struggling in the wake of this storm, you change the world.

Get busy helping someone else and seeover timethe things you might have in common, instead of only the things that might divide you. Remember what can happen when we love our neighbors as ourselves. There are storms that bring us together and storms that divide us. We have a chance now to choose. Harvey already has reminded us what were capable of when we come together.

The recovery ahead will be long. Our neighbors need to know they can count on us. The families affected will need our help and our attention as the work of rebuilding unfolds. If we hold our focus on the important matters at hand, we can use the power of the people to create that world we all know existsif we will simply give it life.

In my life, I have always worked toward that world, and Habitat has always been one of the best ways I know to put my beliefs and principles into practice. The seven virtues highlighted in this bookkindness, community, empowerment, joy, respect, generosity, and servicecertainly live on their build sites, but they are also virtues that must live in each of us every day. They are the virtues that will light our path.

My hope is that as you read these stories, you will begin to see the opportunities that surround you. That you will be moved, as Rosalynn and I have been, to become a part of something that doesnt just celebrate these virtues but actively creates and encourages them. Take your time and talents out into the world. Join forces with individuals like the ones you will read about in these pages.

The truth is that we need not wait for a disaster to offer up ourselves as instruments of change, of everyday miracles in the everyday making. Another thing that Habitat always reminds me of is that there are those in your community, closer than you think, who only seek your openness, your companionship, and your willingness to get involved. If you offer your hand, they will offer theirs. Others will, too.

And those are the connections that will heal us all.

Jimmy Carter