Jimmy Carter somehow must have gotten word beforehand about Carbondale’s laid-back style when he showed up for his speaking engagement Tuesday evening without a tie, much to the appreciation of moderator Jim Calaway, who was also tie-less for the occasion.

In fact there wasn’t a tie to be found in the audience of about 200 people who filled the Thunder River Theatre for the Roaring Fork Cultural Council event that featured an intimate talk with the former president and first lady Rosalyn Carter.

The hour-long discussion included questions from Calaway and audience members on a wide range of topics, from the Carters’ latest humanitarian work through the Carter Center to several issues on the foreign and domestic front.

---

---

Speaking to heightened concerns about race relations in the United States following the shooting deaths of nine people at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, former President Carter said the country is “awakening to the fact that we have a serious problem.”

After the many strides the country made during the civil rights movement in the 1960s and in the years to follow, “we let our guard down,” Carter said.

---

---

Carter encouraged South Carolina officials to do away with the Confederate state flag as one gesture of racial unity, as his home state of Georgia did several years ago, calling it a “symbol of slavery.”

“We all need to commit ourselves to doing something about it,” he said.

Carter also had harsh words for the power waged by the National Rifle Association, calling it a “deterrent factor” in addressing gun violence in the U.S.

Asked about income inequality in the country, Carter said he supports tax reform and a raise in the minimum wage to address it.

On immigration, he called for a “path to citizenship” for undocumented Latin American immigrants, “as long as they obey the laws and that they are required to learn English.”

The U.S. should also open its doors to some of the stream of refugees who are fleeing war-torn Syria, as an example for European countries to do the same, the president said.

On that note, peace in the Middle East is as elusive as ever, said the 39th president of the United States who helped broker the historic peace deal in the late 1970s between Israel and Egypt.

“I hope and pray the nuclear negotiations with Iran will be successful,” he said in response to a question about renewing diplomatic relations with Iran, which Carter said he supported even after the Iranian hostage crisis that led in part to his losing the White House to Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Asked by Calaway if campaign finance reform is needed, Carter said bluntly that he believes the nation’s democracy has been replaced by a plutocracy where money can buy elections. That would never be allowed in the many developing countries where he has monitored elections, he said.

“The worst thing that has happened in the United States since I was president is the decision of the Supreme Court on Citizens United,” Carter said of the decision that granted corporations equal footing with individuals in political campaign giving.

The Carters spoke jointly about their work together through the Carter Center on issues ranging from human rights abuses involving women and girls around the world, fighting disease in remote tropical regions, and Rosalyn Carter’s efforts to address mental health needs in the U.S.

“It’s an exciting time” for mental health awareness and treatment for those who suffer from mental health issues, she said.

“We now know that a majority of people can recover and live a full life,” Mrs. Carter said.

“That was not the case when Jimmy was president,” she said of a time when mental institutions were common and treatment was lacking.

“The Carter Center has also become a leader in trying to overcome the stigma” around mental health, she said, even sponsoring a program to train the news media how to report on mental health issues with sensitivity.

“We are seeing more people move back into their communities and living healthy lives again, and I am excited about that,” she said.

Afterward, Enis Alldredge of Carbondale and his wife, Karen, said they appreciated that the Carters came to Carbondale.

“I applaud their efforts with the Carter Center in particular,” Alldredge said, adding he disagreed with former President Carter’s stances on income inequality and campaign finance, but he agreed with him on immigration policy.

“I just have to applaud them for coming to a small town like Carbondale,” he said.

Linda Besnette, mother of Colorado Mountain College President Carrie Hauser, was visiting from Arizona and had an opportunity to catch the Carters’ talk.

“As a pair they have always been thrilling to follow, with their international efforts and the ills of our society,” Besnette said. “He seemed as sharp as ever, and I loved his ideas on campaign finance and medical issues.”