From Carter's funeral, an American snapshot: A singular image, 5 presidents, 379 years of history

Take notice of their faces – formal, defined by years of experience, carrying the weight of significant choices. Add up their ages: 379 years – long enough to transport you back to the mid-1600s, when the idea of the American nation was still more than a century in the future.

Take a moment to consider why they had gathered: to say goodbye to a fellow fraternity brother who was the last of his kind and had lived through the early years, just a few years after World War I had finally subsided.

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The current vice president.

The Founding Fathers designed the presidency to be a position beyond one individual. Nonetheless, with our fondness for larger-than-life characters and our tendency to place great importance on individual leaders, the President of the United States has evolved into a unique entity - a fusion of person and office that uniquely occupies a distinct place in public life.

The office maintains a sense of somberness that carries over into a multi-day memorial.

What's really remarkable about these images - and what sets them apart - is the sense of camaraderie that shines through, despite the fact that the veterans being honoured weren't always natural ideological friends.

Due to the growth of the internet and economic hardships, climate change, and the pandemic, leaders emerged to guide the nation forward, whether you admire them or dislike them, they've made significant contributions - both beneficial and damaging - in the name of the American people.

It's the exact opposite, actually.

Asking oneself to imagine the historical leaders sitting together in a church pew on a day of sadness can make them seem more like everyday people. Dressed up in formal attire for a funeral, they laid to rest a legendary figure from an earlier time. And a single photo at the time showed no single leader in charge, bringing them back down to earth. This image really drives home the truth that, as Abraham Lincoln once said, "it's about a government led by the people, made up of the people, serving the people."

“Carter got his strength from ordinary people,” Jason Carter, his grandson, said in his eulogy.

In a country where deep pockets have unimaginable influence and resources, this doesn't mean these five individuals are "regular people." The authority they wield, wield now or will wield in the future, is indeed astonishing.

But that authority is ultimately limited, and not just by size limitations. Whatever history will think of Biden, Trump, Obama, Bush and Clinton in the end, it will have the final say for the five people who got together Thursday — and the sixth one, Carter, was also there.

It doesn't minimize the significance of Thursday's tribute. A longtime friend and advisor to Carter, Stuart Eizenstat, had this to say about the 39th prime minister at the ceremony, and it's probably true for all the prime ministers who were there: "He may not have secured a spot on Mount Rushmore, but he earned a place in the surrounding hills."

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