It's Thursday, Everyone!
I recently read this account of events, by the late Nelson Mandela, that took place in a town in South Africa after Mandela became president of that country in 1994.
After becoming President, I asked some of my bodyguard members to go for a walk in town. After the walk, we went for lunch at a restaurant. We sat in one of the most central ones, and each of us asked what we wanted. After a bit of waiting, the waiter who brought our menus appeared, at that moment I realized that at the table that was right in front of ours there was a single man waiting to be served.
When he was served, I told one of my soldiers: go ask that man to join us. The soldier went and transmitted my invitation. The man stood up, took the plate and sat next to me. While eating, his hands were constantly shaking and he didn't lift his head from the food. When we finished, he waved at me without even looking at me, I shook his hand and walked away!
Soldier said to me:
- Madiba, that man must be very sick as his hands wouldn't stop shaking while he was eating.
Not at all! The reason for his tremor is another - I replied. They looked at me weird and said to them:
- That man was the guardian of the jail I was locked up in. Often, after the torture I was subjected to, I screamed and cried for water and he came to humiliate me, he laughed at me and instead of giving me water he urinated on my head.
He wasn't sick, he was scared and shook maybe fearing that I, now that I'm president of South Africa, would send him to jail and do the same thing he did with me, torturing and humiliating him. But that's not me, that behavior is not part of my character nor my ethics. Minds that seek revenge destroy states, while those that seek reconciliation build Nations ′′
Nelson Mandela
After reading the story, I wanted to fact check it to see if it was really true. I know of Mandela's great humanity, but since I stumbled across the story on FB, and you can never be 100% certain that what you are reading on FB actually took place as described, I wanted to make sure I got it correct for all of you. As far as I can tell, the story is more of an allegory, or a symbolic representation, of real events.
What I did learn was that Mandela, who was an anti-apartheid revolutionary (meaning he stood up against racism) and was jailed in South Africa for 27 years, practiced some fantastic acts of forgiveness after he became the country's first black head of state in '94. For instance, he invited his former jailers to dinner to mark the 20th anniversary of his release from prison. He invited his prison guards to his inauguration ceremony. He lunched with those who would have killed him, and he wore a Springbok Rugby Jersey (a symbol of the oppression of he and other black South American citizens) during the 1995 world cup to represent his desire to unite as a country.
Mandela was not only a leader for the people of his own country, but he was a shining example around the world. He helped to unite a nation that had been torn apart by institutional racism (apartheid) from 1948 until the early '90's. He won the Nobel Peace Prize and, since before his death, he has been considered an important example of democracy, and a great teacher of social justice.
With the divisions that exist in our nation in the wake of our election, it seems that we could learn from Nelson Mandela's example about how to come together and how to heal. While we might not always agree on policies and the "how's". What we should be able to agree on is our shared humanity, the values our country was founded on - liberty and justice for all - and the ideas of kindness and respect - the right to be safe, heard and cared for by each other and our leaders.
Check out The Kid President's lessons on how to disagree respectfully.
In January 1989, in George H. W. Bush's inaugural address to the nation, he talked about "a thousand points of light," - inviting citizens to take action through service to others. I was 13 when I heard this speech, and I can still remember it resonating. I hope that we can remember things like this over the coming months. Let's practice compassion, understanding, service towards others, and civil discourse, and encourage those around us to do the same. After all, you guys are our future...
...and this is the way!
Let's stay together, Cougar Community!
Be well,
Mrs. Hempey
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