Friday, December 6, 2013
Nelson Mandela - a Political Saint. Rest in Peace, Madiba.
He had less to smile about than most of us, but we remember his infectuous smile. ~~~~~ He had more reason than most of us to hate those who persecuted him and his people, but he reached out to embrace them. ~~~~~ His dignity and profundity of ideas when he spoke should have made him unapproachable, but he danced and sang and wore his beloved country's rugby uniform. ~~~~~ He was unbending in his belief in the equality of all people and he he held firm until his vision prevailed in the most racist of countries. ~~~~~ He was unique, yet he was all of us, humanity personified. ~~~~~ He was that rarest of human beings, a political saint. ~~~~~ Nelson 'Madiba' Mandela. July 18, 1918 - December 5, 2013.
"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." ___Nelson Mandela.
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." ___Invictus.
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A rare individual to say the least ... A rarer politician, if he was politician. I don't think he was a politician of any sorts. He was simply a man with a set of principals and values that were not at all matched by his surroundings, his country, or his fellow leaders.
ReplyDeleteHe was "The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha" who so believed that nothing was going to stand in his way.
I hope that with his death his ideals do not die as chivalry died with Quixote
RIP
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
ReplyDelete― Mark Twain
Everyone today has their own feelings about the passing of Nelson Mandela yesterday. But withstanding your reaction to his death, if it is one of sorrow, one of loss, one of inconsequence, or one of misinterpretation of his deeds, or one of indifference ; we all who are in search of unrestricted fairness and equality lost something important yesterday. And those who shrugged their shoulders and said nothing also lost something important. And those who opposed his ideas and methods also lost something.
ReplyDeleteA voice of unusual equality and fairness is gone from an era when it may be most needed.