I first met President Jimmy Carter at a sports bar in 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics. I was interning for the Carter Center in the same summer class as Jason Carter, his grandson. President Carter made a point to speak to every intern. He shared with us that he loved the Olympics because it represented a hope for peace and diplomacy. For a 19 year old, son of immigrants, this encounter was exhilarating. I left the internship in awe of American politics.

Jimmy Carter represented politics at its highest calling. He reminded me of my grandfather, Amarnath Vidhyalankar, an Indian freedom fighter who served in jail as part of Gandhi’s independence movement. They both shared a commitment to standing up for principle.

American politics is different these days. Ridiculing is in vogue along with making outlandish statements that go viral on social media. Colleagues on both sides scream at each other in hearings and cling to power long past their mental and physical primes. In frivolous political times like ours, Carter is a refreshing reminder that it is possible to have a politics of dignity and statesmanship.

In 2019, I went to Georgia to visit Carter with........

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