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​Four Keys to Uniting a Divided Country
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​There are four keys to uniting a divided country:

• belief in truth
• belief in helping others
• faith in democracy and freedom

• rock & roll 

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So we learn from former President Jimmy Carter at the end of Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President.  He likes all kinds of music: classical, country, jazz, and rhythm and blues.  Let rock & roll be a metaphor for them all. 

President Carter speaks as something of an insider.  He has been on stage with Willie Nelson six times, won three grammys for poetry and spoken books, and attends ballets and symphonies regularly.  But his insight is something we all know.  We know that music offers a common language of the heart and that it can bring people together who might otherwise despise each other. 

I know this personally from playing in a band at venues where people from what, for me, are the 'other side' of a political spectrum enjoy many of the same songs I do.  They, we, sing together to a good rhythm and blues song even as we disagree rather vehemently on who the next president should be.  There's something about rhythm, harmony, melody, and soulfulness that brings people together even as their minds may be far apart. 

I know this as well from my immersion in process theology.  Process theology is important to me because it emphasizes the role of feeling in human behavior.  It proposes that feelings and relationships in the present moment are what life is made of, calling them actual occasions of experience.  Life consists of such occasions.

Music is what feelings sound like.  So, yes, President Carter, music is indeed what can help unite a divided country, if combined with the other three: belief in truth,  belief in helping others, faith in democracy and freedom.   Thank you as always for being one of the best post-presidents, and for that matter one of the best active presidents, out country has known.

- Jay McDaniel, June 27, 2020

​"At the end of the film, Carter himself, now 95, adds a word on the power of music in culture and politics, in a comment that finally propels the documentary into the current political moment. Music can unite the country, he says, along with our "belief in the truth, belief in helping others, and our faith in democracy and freedom." All these things, which we share, "will bring us together even after a divisive era of our constantly changing history," he says. He doesn't mention any other president's name. His sly smile says it all."  (Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter, June 21, 2020)

Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President​

​Willie Nelson on Jimmy Carter and Bob Dylan
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​Another scene shows Nelson singing "Georgia" in Oslo when Carter was awarded the Nobel. Nelson offers the best explanation for Carter's odd-couple friendships with people like Dylan. "Probably he and Bob had a lot of good ideas to exchange because they come from entirely different places," he says. That, of course, says everything about their mutual ability to listen. Nelson's own connection to Carter was more organic, rooted in the South. "Jimmy and I basically come from the same spot," Nelson says. (Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter, June 21, 2020)

Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President
Directed by Mary Wharton

Film Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
reposted from Spirituality and Practice​
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Before he became the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter was a Georgia state senator, the governor of Georgia, and a peanut farmer. He also was a devoted Christian who believed that making peace is always preferable to making war. That commitment to the Prince of Peace was evident in his presidency, during which he never ordered a bomb to be dropped or a missile to be launched.
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After he was defeated for re-election in 1980 by Ronald Reagan, Carter decided to commit the rest of his life to humanitarian work, building houses as a Habitat for Humanity volunteer and through the Carter Center working to eliminate guinea worm infections in Africa and helping to monitor democratic elections around the world. It was no surprise that he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

What is less known about Jimmy Carter is that he is an enthusiastic music fan -- especially rock & roll, country, and jazz. Early on in his political career his heart-felt emotions and humble demeanor won the support of such popular musicians as Bob Dylan, Gregg Allman of The Allman Brothers, Willie Nelson, and Jimmy Buffett. During the primary campaign before the 1976 election, these musicians did concerts to raise money for and build awareness of his candidacy. Carter might not have gotten nominated or elected without this support.

Throughout this documentary, musicians talk about their admiration for Carter and their appreciation of his encyclopedia knowledge of music. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood recall times they worked with Jimmy and Rosalind on Habitat houses. Bono discusses the impact of Carter's work around the world. Archival film footage shows Paul Simon and Aretha Franklin performing at his inaugural ball. While he was in the White House, Carter welcomed musicians like June Carter and Johnny Cash to the White House. Willie Nelson was also a frequent guest.
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Carter also hosted many concerts on the White House lawn, introducing his guests to such musical legends as Loretta Lynn, Muddy Waters, and Dizzy Gillespie. The film includes footage of some of those unique events. In an unusual and very successful diplomatic move, Carter arranged for the new ambassador to the U.S. from China to fulfill a wish to visit Nashville and meet country music stars.

This beautifully arranged and orchestrated documentary reveals that music speaks to the soul, celebrates diversity, sheds light on the human condition, and addresses the yearnings we have for love and community. An era's music is a reflection of the concerns and aspirations of the people. This documentary, and the president it celebrates, confirms what Carter says in the film, "Music is the best proof that people have one thing in common, no matter where they live, no matter what language they speak."