Member-only story
Back to the Future — What We Can Learn from President Jimmy Carter’s 1979 “A Crisis of Confidence" Speech
We keep making the same mistakes
I was born in 1961. Everything you’re about to read in the following transcription of President Jimmy Carter’s 1979 speech to the nation seems to me as real today as it did then.
- High energy prices.
- Rampant inflation.
- Social unrest.
- Public distrust of politicians.
It’s as if we will never learn from past mistakes despite all the advances in medicine, science, and technology.
It seems we keep failing forward. It’s as if we were sent here to trudge our way through the muck without figuring out how to get along better.
Look, I don’t know much. But the older I get, the more I respect history and the rich life I’ve lived.
Read through the speech and let’s see what you think we keep making the same mistakes.
Good Evening.
This is a special night for me. Exactly three years ago, on July 15, 1976, I accepted the nomination of my party to run for President of the United States.
