Saturday, December 07, 2013 11:14:57 AM
President Obama Speaks on the Death of Nelson Mandela
Published on Dec 5, 2013
President Obama says that Nelson Mandela's journey from a prisoner to President embodied the promise that human beings, and countries, can change for the better, and asks that we pause and give thanks for the fact that Mandela lived -- a man who took history in his hands, and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice.
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Statement by the President on the Death of Nelson Mandela
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
December 05, 2013
5:25 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: At his trial in 1964, Nelson Mandela closed his statement from the dock saying, “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
And Nelson Mandela lived for that ideal, and he made it real. He achieved more than could be expected of any man. Today, he has gone home. And we have lost one of the most influential, courageous, and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth. He no longer belongs to us -- he belongs to the ages.
Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, Madiba transformed South Africa -- and moved all of us. His journey from a prisoner to a President embodied the promise that human beings -- and countries -- can change for the better. His commitment to transfer power and reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to, whether in the lives of nations or our own personal lives. And the fact that he did it all with grace and good humor, and an ability to acknowledge his own imperfections, only makes the man that much more remarkable. As he once said, “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”
I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela's life. My very first political action, the first thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics, was a protest against apartheid. I studied his words and his writings. The day that he was released from prison gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they’re guided by their hopes and not by their fears. And like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set, and so long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him.
To Graça Machel and his family, Michelle and I extend our deepest sympathy and gratitude for sharing this extraordinary man with us. His life’s work meant long days away from those who loved him the most. And I only hope that the time spent with him these last few weeks brought peace and comfort to his family.
To the people of South Africa, we draw strength from the example of renewal, and reconciliation, and resilience that you made real. A free South Africa at peace with itself -- that’s an example to the world, and that’s Madiba’s legacy to the nation he loved.
We will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. So it falls to us as best we can to forward the example that he set: to make decisions guided not by hate, but by love; to never discount the difference that one person can make; to strive for a future that is worthy of his sacrifice.
For now, let us pause and give thanks for the fact that Nelson Mandela lived -- a man who took history in his hands, and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice. May God Bless his memory and keep him in peace.
END
5:30 P.M. EST
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/12/05/statement-president-death-nelson-mandela
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIbwXCbiklY [with comments] [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqIdhotX0bs (two posts back at/see {linked in} http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=94708955 and preceding and following)]; http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/12/05/man-who-took-history-his-hands-and-bent-arc-moral-universe-toward-justice
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Obama’s Path Was Shaped by Mandela’s Story
Video [embedded] [Obama's statement, (much better video, with transcript) above]
President Obama Remembers Mandela: Mr. Obama spoke of an “influential, courageous and profoundly good” man, who was an inspiration and a model for many, including himself.
Interactive Feature
The Life and Legacy of Nelson Mandela: 1918-2013
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/05/world/africa/Mandela-Timeline.html
Video Feature: Memories of Mandela
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/05/world/africa/mandela-memories-obit.html
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
Published: December 5, 2013
WASHINGTON — Without Nelson Mandela, there might never have been a President Obama.
That is the strong impression conveyed from Mr. Obama, whose political and personal bonds to Mr. Mandela, the former South African president, transcended their single face-to-face meeting, which took place at a hotel here in 2005.
It was the fight for racial justice in South Africa by Mr. Mandela that first inspired a young Barack Obama to public service, the American president recalled on Thursday evening after hearing that Mr. Mandela, the 95-year-old world icon, had died. Mr. Obama delivered his first public speech, in 1979, at an anti-apartheid rally.
Mr. Obama’s first moment on the public stage was the start of a life and political career imbued with the kind of hope that Mr. Mandela personified. “The day that he was released from prison gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they’re guided by their hopes and not by their fears,” Mr. Obama said on Thursday.
“Hope” would eventually become the mantra for his ascension to the White House.
On two continents separated by thousands of miles and vastly different political cultures, the lives of the two men rarely intersected. Weeks before their only meeting, Mr. Obama wrote Mr. Mandela a letter that Oprah Winfrey carried to South Africa. As Mr. Obama later emerged as a national political leader, he and Mr. Mandela occasionally traded phone calls or letters.
But the trajectories of the two leaders, who broke political and social barriers in their own countries, were destined to be connected, even if mostly from afar. Mr. Obama wrote about Mr. Mandela as a distant but inspirational figure in the forward to Mr. Mandela’s 2010 book, “Conversations With Myself.”
“His sacrifice was so great that it called upon people everywhere to do what they could on behalf of human progress,” Mr. Obama wrote. “In the most modest of ways, I was one of those people who tried to answer his call.”
Mr. Mandela and Mr. Obama served as the first black leaders of their nations and both were looked to by some as the vehicles for reconciliation between polarized electorates. Both won the Nobel Peace Prize, in part for their charisma and their ability to inspire and communicate.
Mr. Obama often referred to Mr. Mandela by the former president’s clan name, Madiba — a term of affection for the aging, beloved leader in South Africa. On Thursday, Mr. Obama spoke of the goals that Mr. Mandela worked decades for, and eventually achieved.
“A free South Africa at peace with itself — that’s an example to the world, and that’s Madiba’s legacy to the nation he loved,” Mr. Obama said from the White House as news of Mr. Mandela’s death spread.
But the American president regularly shied from direct comparisons with Mr. Mandela. Mr. Obama often noted privately and publicly that his sacrifices would never compare to Mr. Mandela’s.
Aides to Mr. Obama said he was uncomfortable when people drew parallels between them, as they often did. Robert Gibbs, the former White House press secretary, accompanied Mr. Obama on his first visit to the tiny prison cell on Robben Island where Mr. Mandela had been jailed for years.
“Having stood in that space that day, you realize that whatever analogies you might draw, that Mandela is and always will be a singular figure in the history of the world,” Mr. Gibbs recalled this summer. “I don’t think the president would look at even the hardest days as equal even to the very best day that he might have spent inside of Robben Island.”
And yet, the struggle by Mr. Mandela has been a beacon to Mr. Obama, drawing him to South Africa twice to pay homage.
The last trip came in June of this year, as Mr. Obama traveled to Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa on a visit overshadowed by the possibility that the ailing Mr. Mandela might die at any moment.
On the trip, Mr. Obama did not visit with Mr. Mandela, who was fighting a lung infection. Officials said a visit would have been disruptive and unhelpful to Mr. Mandela’s recovery. Instead, Mr. Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, visited with Mr. Mandela’s family.
“I don’t need a photo-op, and the last thing I want to do is to be in any way obtrusive at a time when the family is concerned about Nelson Mandela’s condition,” Mr. Obama said at the time.
During the trip, Mr. Obama reflected repeatedly on the impact Mr. Mandela had on him, and people around the world. Moments before he again stood in the cell on Robben Island, Mr. Obama told his daughters of Mr. Mandela’s legacy.
“One thing you guys might not be aware of is that the idea of political nonviolence first took root here in South Africa because Mahatma Gandhi was a lawyer here in South Africa,” the president told them. “When he went back to India the principles ultimately led to Indian independence, and what Gandhi did inspired Martin Luther King.”
In a speech to students at Cape Town University, Mr. Obama lauded Mr. Mandela as a leader whose “spirit could never be imprisoned” and a man who serves as an inspiration for all.
“Nelson Mandela showed us that one man’s courage can move the world,” Mr. Obama told the students. “And he calls on us to make choices that reflect not our fears, but our hopes — in our own lives, and in the lives of our communities and our countries.”
The 2005 meeting between Mr. Obama and Mr. Mandela was brief, just a few minutes, as a young American senator shook the hands of an elderly man. The moment was captured in a photograph taken by Mr. Obama’s driver. It shows Mr. Obama, silhouetted against a bright window, holding hands with Mr. Mandela, who is reclining on a couch.
[ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23108612 ]
One copy of the photograph has sat for years on a desk in Mr. Mandela’s office in South Africa. Another copy is on Mr. Obama’s desk in the Oval Office.
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Related
Mandela’s Death Leaves South Africa Without Its Moral Center (December 6, 2013)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/nelson-mandela.html
Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s Liberator as Prisoner and President, Dies at 95 (December 5, 2013)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/nelson-mandela_obit.html
Related in Opinion
Op-Ed Contributor: Mandela Taught a Continent to Forgive (December 6, 2013)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/opinion/mahama-mandela-taught-a-continent-to-forgive.html
Op-Ed Contributor: The Contradictions of Mandela (December 6, 2013)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/opinion/the-contradictions-of-mandela.html
Op-Ed Columnist: South Africa Since Mandela (December 17, 2012)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/opinion/keller-south-africa-since-mandela.html
Op-Ed Columnist: Mandela and Obama (June 30, 2013)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/opinion/sunday/keller-mandela-and-obama.html
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© 2013 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/obama-mandela.html [ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/obama-mandela.html?pagewanted=all ]
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Tribute to Nelson Mandela
By Muhammad Ali
Posted: 11/26/2013 9:59 am
Mandela. One name. One man. One mission: Saving a nation from itself.
Few men in the history of mankind have had more impact on a nation and inspired the world.
Mandela.
He led his country from the viciousness of apartheid to the glory of a multiracial democracy, peacefully.
Has an individual ever given more to a nation and a cause? Only those who have sacrificed their very lives.
Mr. Mandela could have easily spent those 27 years of incarceration abroad, protesting the evil from afar, safe from repercussions. Not him. If his people suffered, he would suffer with them.
I know something about protest. I know well the feelings and questions that run through the mind of those who stand against a system, braving everything for a cause. It is never easy. The personal price is high, but the greatest of people persevere for the greater good. Modern South Africa is built on the back of Mr. Mandela's sacrifice. It still amazes me, even to this day, that a man could give up two and half decades of his life, emerge from prison and forgive his imprisoners.
The Zulu word ubuntu best describes him: my humanity is through you. Mr. Mandela was able, despite all the evil done to him, to see the humanity of those who punished him. He was able to look into their souls and see something worth redeeming. This is a lesson that should be learned by the world: There is humanity, even in the worst of us. If only the leaders of nations would embrace his method, there would be peace throughout the world. He proved there is always a way to reconcile differences.
As Mr. Mandela walked to freedom, I thought about him in that cell, brave and proud and unbroken, fueled only by the power of his beliefs for all those years. His iron resolve was a beacon for that nation, and on that great day, South Africans followed that powerful, inspirational light out of bondage.
Later, I was amazed to discover that Mr. Mandela used to listen to my fights when he was imprisoned on Robben Island. That humbling revelation moved me to tears. There he was, a king in exile, being lifted up by my ring exploits. Had I known he was listening to Ali-Frazier I, I probably would've beaten Joe that night. I was always the greatest when I was fighting for something.
Mr. Mandela is considered a chief of his tribe; his family name is Mandiba. But he represents a much larger tribe. He is the chief of the tribe of courage, and decency for all of mankind. There is not a more significant, important, profound world leader of this century.
A hundred years from now, they will speak his name, and somewhere a child will be imbued with his spirit and use that inspiration to achieve greatness. This is his legacy, a path of light for generations to come. Can there be anything greater to leave behind?
For good reasons, Mr. Mandela is also called Tata, father. He is indeed the father of his nation. But because he has lived his life in service to others, been a warrior for freedom, an avatar of personal sacrifice, he is also the father of nations -- Tata to the world.
I salute this greatest of men and feel honored and blessed to have lived through the time of Mandela.
This post is part of a series marking the theatrical release of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, a new film starring Idris Elba and based on South African President Nelson Mandela's autobiography of the same name. Film opens in select theaters November 29. View the full series of celebrity tributes at http://www.aol.com/mandela and learn more about the film at http://www.mandelafilm.com .
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-ali/tribute-to-nelson-mandela_b_4340781.html [with comments]
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The Religious, Spiritual, Humanist Worldview And Inspiring Legacy Of Nelson Mandela
Posted: 12/06/2013 3:47 pm EST | Updated: 12/06/2013 4:11 pm EST
Nelson Mandela was one of the most important figures in the 20th century. In his struggle to free South Africa from apartheid, Mandela embodied the power of the human spirit in overcoming systemic oppression, offering hope to millions around the world who continue to strive for a more just and peaceful world. His autobiography Long Walk To Freedom [ http://www.amazon.com/Long-Walk-Freedom-Autobiography-Mandela/dp/0316548189 ] is the best source for understanding his religious, spiritual and humanist worldview, and most of the quotes in this overview come from that text, unless otherwise stated.
Mandela's mother was Methodist and Nelson was baptized Methodist too, though his father was a priest in his village:
He did not need to be ordained, for the traditional religion of the Xhosas is characterized by a cosmic wholeness, so that there is little distinction between the sacred and the secular.
He was quite religious for a time, as much of his education was received in Methodist schools. This influence inspired an appreciation for not only the spiritual contributions of the church, but also its importance in advancing the social needs of the people:
The Church was as concerned with this world as the next: I saw that virtually all of the achievements of Africans seemed to have come about through the missionary work of the Church.
However, later in life he also recognized how the church, specifically the Dutch Reform Church, was complicit in oppression of the African people, saying:
The (apartheid) policy was supported by the Dutch Reform Church, which furnished apartheid with its religious underpinnings by suggesting that Afrikaners were God's chosen people and that blacks were a subservient species. In the Afrikaner's worldview, apartheid and the church went hand in hand.
Another insight into the religious world view of Mandela came in the discussion of the use of violent vs. non-violent means in the struggle against apartheid. In Long Walk To Freedom, Mandela explains his difference of opinion on non-violence with Mahatma Gandhi's son, Manilal Gandhi, who was the editor of the newspaper Indian Opinion:
I saw nonviolence in the Gandhian model not as an inviolable principle but as a tactic to be used as the situation demanded. The principle was not so important that the strategy should be used even when it was self- defeating, as Gandhi himself believed. I called for nonviolent protest for as long as it was effective. This view prevailed, despite Manilal Gandhi's strong objections.
When Mandela did go to jail, it was to be for 27 long years. But according to Archbishop Desmond Tutu [ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/interviews/tutu.html ] speaking to PBS, it was a time of deep growth for him:
I think what happened to him in prison was something that you have to now accept my authority for it, that suffering can do one of two things to a person. It can make you bitter and hard and really resentful of things. Or as it seems to do with very many people--it is like fires of adversity that toughen someone. They make you strong but paradoxically also they make you compassionate, and gentle. I think that that is what happened to him.
The power of this transformation carried over into his worldview. He wrote about universal concern for humanity and justice for all in his autobiography, on the night of his election as President of South Africa:
From the moment the results were in and it was apparent that the ANC was to form the government, I saw my mission as one of preaching reconciliation, of binding the wounds of the country, of engendering trust and confidence. I knew that many people, particularly the minorities, whites, Coloureds, and Indians, would be feeling anxious about the future, and I wanted them to feel secure. I reminded people again and again that the liberation struggle was not a battle against any one group or color, but a fight against a system of repression. At every opportunity, I said all South Africans must now unite and join hands and say we are one country, one nation, one people, marching together into the future.
Perhaps nothing signifies Nelson Mandela's religious ideals more than the Commission on Truth and Reconciliation that he set up with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It serves as a testament to the idea that past wrongs should be identified and atoned for, and while not forgotten, they might be forgiven.
Now the challenge is for all of us to protect our democratic gains like the apple of our eye. It is for those who have the means, to contribute to the efforts to repair the damage brought by the past. It is for those who have suffered losses of different kinds and magnitudes to be afforded reparation, proceeding from the premise that freedom and dignity are the real prize that our sacrifices were meant to attain. Free at last, we are all masters of our destiny. A better future depends on all of us lending a hand - your hand, my hand.
In the end, perhaps the idea that best sums up Nelson Mandela's religious and spiritual outlook is the African concept of Ubuntu. Nelson Mandela himself explained the concept in this video [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HED4h00xPPA (below, as embedded)]:
A traveller through a country would stop at a village and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/06/nelson-mandela-religion-spirituality-_n_4399847.html [with (separate) embedded video report, and comments]
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The Right Wing’s Campaign To Discredit And Undermine Mandela, In One Timeline
December 6, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/home/2013/12/06/3029871/wing-timeline-mandela/ [with comments]
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Don’t Sanitize Nelson Mandela: He’s Honored Now, But Was Hated Then
If we turn the late South African leader into a nonthreatening moral icon, we’ll forget a key lesson from his life: America isn’t always a force for freedom.
December 5th 2013
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/05/don-t-sanitize-nelson-mandela-he-s-honored-now-but-was-hated-then.html [with embedded video "Facts and figures from Nelson Mandela’s life, set to the trailer from ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.’", and comments]
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People Used To Write Some Startling Things About Nelson Mandela
12/06/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/06/nelson-mandela-death-used-to-say_n_4399027.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
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Nelson Mandela Delivered One Of The Most Scathing Critiques Of Invading Iraq
12/06/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/06/nelson-mandela-iraq_n_4399015.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
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Six Things Nelson Mandela Believed That Most People Won’t Talk About
December 6, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/home/2013/12/06/3030781/nelson-mandela-believed-people-wont-talk/ [with comments]
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What Americans Can Learn From The Constitution Nelson Mandela Signed
December 6, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/12/06/3032421/americans-learn-constitution-nelson-mandela-signed/ [with comments]
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How Rachel Maddow Helped Force Bill Clinton's Support For Mandela's AIDS Plan
12/06/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/06/rachel-maddow-bill-clinton-mandela_n_4401074.html [with comments]
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Cover Story: Nelson Mandela, Hero
December 5, 2013
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/12/new-yorker-cover-nelson-mandela.html [ http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/12/new-yorker-cover-nelson-mandela.html#slide_ss_0=1 ] [with comments]
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http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=94736850 and preceding (and any future following)
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http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=93197040 and preceding and following
Published on Dec 5, 2013
President Obama says that Nelson Mandela's journey from a prisoner to President embodied the promise that human beings, and countries, can change for the better, and asks that we pause and give thanks for the fact that Mandela lived -- a man who took history in his hands, and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice.
*
Statement by the President on the Death of Nelson Mandela
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room
December 05, 2013
5:25 P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: At his trial in 1964, Nelson Mandela closed his statement from the dock saying, “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
And Nelson Mandela lived for that ideal, and he made it real. He achieved more than could be expected of any man. Today, he has gone home. And we have lost one of the most influential, courageous, and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth. He no longer belongs to us -- he belongs to the ages.
Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, Madiba transformed South Africa -- and moved all of us. His journey from a prisoner to a President embodied the promise that human beings -- and countries -- can change for the better. His commitment to transfer power and reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to, whether in the lives of nations or our own personal lives. And the fact that he did it all with grace and good humor, and an ability to acknowledge his own imperfections, only makes the man that much more remarkable. As he once said, “I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.”
I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela's life. My very first political action, the first thing I ever did that involved an issue or a policy or politics, was a protest against apartheid. I studied his words and his writings. The day that he was released from prison gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they’re guided by their hopes and not by their fears. And like so many around the globe, I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example that Nelson Mandela set, and so long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him.
To Graça Machel and his family, Michelle and I extend our deepest sympathy and gratitude for sharing this extraordinary man with us. His life’s work meant long days away from those who loved him the most. And I only hope that the time spent with him these last few weeks brought peace and comfort to his family.
To the people of South Africa, we draw strength from the example of renewal, and reconciliation, and resilience that you made real. A free South Africa at peace with itself -- that’s an example to the world, and that’s Madiba’s legacy to the nation he loved.
We will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again. So it falls to us as best we can to forward the example that he set: to make decisions guided not by hate, but by love; to never discount the difference that one person can make; to strive for a future that is worthy of his sacrifice.
For now, let us pause and give thanks for the fact that Nelson Mandela lived -- a man who took history in his hands, and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice. May God Bless his memory and keep him in peace.
END
5:30 P.M. EST
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/12/05/statement-president-death-nelson-mandela
*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIbwXCbiklY [with comments] [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqIdhotX0bs (two posts back at/see {linked in} http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=94708955 and preceding and following)]; http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/12/05/man-who-took-history-his-hands-and-bent-arc-moral-universe-toward-justice
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Obama’s Path Was Shaped by Mandela’s Story
Video [embedded] [Obama's statement, (much better video, with transcript) above]
President Obama Remembers Mandela: Mr. Obama spoke of an “influential, courageous and profoundly good” man, who was an inspiration and a model for many, including himself.
Interactive Feature
The Life and Legacy of Nelson Mandela: 1918-2013
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/05/world/africa/Mandela-Timeline.html
Video Feature: Memories of Mandela
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/05/world/africa/mandela-memories-obit.html
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
Published: December 5, 2013
WASHINGTON — Without Nelson Mandela, there might never have been a President Obama.
That is the strong impression conveyed from Mr. Obama, whose political and personal bonds to Mr. Mandela, the former South African president, transcended their single face-to-face meeting, which took place at a hotel here in 2005.
It was the fight for racial justice in South Africa by Mr. Mandela that first inspired a young Barack Obama to public service, the American president recalled on Thursday evening after hearing that Mr. Mandela, the 95-year-old world icon, had died. Mr. Obama delivered his first public speech, in 1979, at an anti-apartheid rally.
Mr. Obama’s first moment on the public stage was the start of a life and political career imbued with the kind of hope that Mr. Mandela personified. “The day that he was released from prison gave me a sense of what human beings can do when they’re guided by their hopes and not by their fears,” Mr. Obama said on Thursday.
“Hope” would eventually become the mantra for his ascension to the White House.
On two continents separated by thousands of miles and vastly different political cultures, the lives of the two men rarely intersected. Weeks before their only meeting, Mr. Obama wrote Mr. Mandela a letter that Oprah Winfrey carried to South Africa. As Mr. Obama later emerged as a national political leader, he and Mr. Mandela occasionally traded phone calls or letters.
But the trajectories of the two leaders, who broke political and social barriers in their own countries, were destined to be connected, even if mostly from afar. Mr. Obama wrote about Mr. Mandela as a distant but inspirational figure in the forward to Mr. Mandela’s 2010 book, “Conversations With Myself.”
“His sacrifice was so great that it called upon people everywhere to do what they could on behalf of human progress,” Mr. Obama wrote. “In the most modest of ways, I was one of those people who tried to answer his call.”
Mr. Mandela and Mr. Obama served as the first black leaders of their nations and both were looked to by some as the vehicles for reconciliation between polarized electorates. Both won the Nobel Peace Prize, in part for their charisma and their ability to inspire and communicate.
Mr. Obama often referred to Mr. Mandela by the former president’s clan name, Madiba — a term of affection for the aging, beloved leader in South Africa. On Thursday, Mr. Obama spoke of the goals that Mr. Mandela worked decades for, and eventually achieved.
“A free South Africa at peace with itself — that’s an example to the world, and that’s Madiba’s legacy to the nation he loved,” Mr. Obama said from the White House as news of Mr. Mandela’s death spread.
But the American president regularly shied from direct comparisons with Mr. Mandela. Mr. Obama often noted privately and publicly that his sacrifices would never compare to Mr. Mandela’s.
Aides to Mr. Obama said he was uncomfortable when people drew parallels between them, as they often did. Robert Gibbs, the former White House press secretary, accompanied Mr. Obama on his first visit to the tiny prison cell on Robben Island where Mr. Mandela had been jailed for years.
“Having stood in that space that day, you realize that whatever analogies you might draw, that Mandela is and always will be a singular figure in the history of the world,” Mr. Gibbs recalled this summer. “I don’t think the president would look at even the hardest days as equal even to the very best day that he might have spent inside of Robben Island.”
And yet, the struggle by Mr. Mandela has been a beacon to Mr. Obama, drawing him to South Africa twice to pay homage.
The last trip came in June of this year, as Mr. Obama traveled to Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa on a visit overshadowed by the possibility that the ailing Mr. Mandela might die at any moment.
On the trip, Mr. Obama did not visit with Mr. Mandela, who was fighting a lung infection. Officials said a visit would have been disruptive and unhelpful to Mr. Mandela’s recovery. Instead, Mr. Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, visited with Mr. Mandela’s family.
“I don’t need a photo-op, and the last thing I want to do is to be in any way obtrusive at a time when the family is concerned about Nelson Mandela’s condition,” Mr. Obama said at the time.
During the trip, Mr. Obama reflected repeatedly on the impact Mr. Mandela had on him, and people around the world. Moments before he again stood in the cell on Robben Island, Mr. Obama told his daughters of Mr. Mandela’s legacy.
“One thing you guys might not be aware of is that the idea of political nonviolence first took root here in South Africa because Mahatma Gandhi was a lawyer here in South Africa,” the president told them. “When he went back to India the principles ultimately led to Indian independence, and what Gandhi did inspired Martin Luther King.”
In a speech to students at Cape Town University, Mr. Obama lauded Mr. Mandela as a leader whose “spirit could never be imprisoned” and a man who serves as an inspiration for all.
“Nelson Mandela showed us that one man’s courage can move the world,” Mr. Obama told the students. “And he calls on us to make choices that reflect not our fears, but our hopes — in our own lives, and in the lives of our communities and our countries.”
The 2005 meeting between Mr. Obama and Mr. Mandela was brief, just a few minutes, as a young American senator shook the hands of an elderly man. The moment was captured in a photograph taken by Mr. Obama’s driver. It shows Mr. Obama, silhouetted against a bright window, holding hands with Mr. Mandela, who is reclining on a couch.
[ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23108612 ]
One copy of the photograph has sat for years on a desk in Mr. Mandela’s office in South Africa. Another copy is on Mr. Obama’s desk in the Oval Office.
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Related
Mandela’s Death Leaves South Africa Without Its Moral Center (December 6, 2013)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/nelson-mandela.html
Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s Liberator as Prisoner and President, Dies at 95 (December 5, 2013)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/nelson-mandela_obit.html
Related in Opinion
Op-Ed Contributor: Mandela Taught a Continent to Forgive (December 6, 2013)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/opinion/mahama-mandela-taught-a-continent-to-forgive.html
Op-Ed Contributor: The Contradictions of Mandela (December 6, 2013)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/opinion/the-contradictions-of-mandela.html
Op-Ed Columnist: South Africa Since Mandela (December 17, 2012)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/opinion/keller-south-africa-since-mandela.html
Op-Ed Columnist: Mandela and Obama (June 30, 2013)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/opinion/sunday/keller-mandela-and-obama.html
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© 2013 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/obama-mandela.html [ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/africa/obama-mandela.html?pagewanted=all ]
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Tribute to Nelson Mandela
By Muhammad Ali
Posted: 11/26/2013 9:59 am
Mandela. One name. One man. One mission: Saving a nation from itself.
Few men in the history of mankind have had more impact on a nation and inspired the world.
Mandela.
He led his country from the viciousness of apartheid to the glory of a multiracial democracy, peacefully.
Has an individual ever given more to a nation and a cause? Only those who have sacrificed their very lives.
Mr. Mandela could have easily spent those 27 years of incarceration abroad, protesting the evil from afar, safe from repercussions. Not him. If his people suffered, he would suffer with them.
I know something about protest. I know well the feelings and questions that run through the mind of those who stand against a system, braving everything for a cause. It is never easy. The personal price is high, but the greatest of people persevere for the greater good. Modern South Africa is built on the back of Mr. Mandela's sacrifice. It still amazes me, even to this day, that a man could give up two and half decades of his life, emerge from prison and forgive his imprisoners.
The Zulu word ubuntu best describes him: my humanity is through you. Mr. Mandela was able, despite all the evil done to him, to see the humanity of those who punished him. He was able to look into their souls and see something worth redeeming. This is a lesson that should be learned by the world: There is humanity, even in the worst of us. If only the leaders of nations would embrace his method, there would be peace throughout the world. He proved there is always a way to reconcile differences.
As Mr. Mandela walked to freedom, I thought about him in that cell, brave and proud and unbroken, fueled only by the power of his beliefs for all those years. His iron resolve was a beacon for that nation, and on that great day, South Africans followed that powerful, inspirational light out of bondage.
Later, I was amazed to discover that Mr. Mandela used to listen to my fights when he was imprisoned on Robben Island. That humbling revelation moved me to tears. There he was, a king in exile, being lifted up by my ring exploits. Had I known he was listening to Ali-Frazier I, I probably would've beaten Joe that night. I was always the greatest when I was fighting for something.
Mr. Mandela is considered a chief of his tribe; his family name is Mandiba. But he represents a much larger tribe. He is the chief of the tribe of courage, and decency for all of mankind. There is not a more significant, important, profound world leader of this century.
A hundred years from now, they will speak his name, and somewhere a child will be imbued with his spirit and use that inspiration to achieve greatness. This is his legacy, a path of light for generations to come. Can there be anything greater to leave behind?
For good reasons, Mr. Mandela is also called Tata, father. He is indeed the father of his nation. But because he has lived his life in service to others, been a warrior for freedom, an avatar of personal sacrifice, he is also the father of nations -- Tata to the world.
I salute this greatest of men and feel honored and blessed to have lived through the time of Mandela.
This post is part of a series marking the theatrical release of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, a new film starring Idris Elba and based on South African President Nelson Mandela's autobiography of the same name. Film opens in select theaters November 29. View the full series of celebrity tributes at http://www.aol.com/mandela and learn more about the film at http://www.mandelafilm.com .
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/muhammad-ali/tribute-to-nelson-mandela_b_4340781.html [with comments]
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The Religious, Spiritual, Humanist Worldview And Inspiring Legacy Of Nelson Mandela
Posted: 12/06/2013 3:47 pm EST | Updated: 12/06/2013 4:11 pm EST
Nelson Mandela was one of the most important figures in the 20th century. In his struggle to free South Africa from apartheid, Mandela embodied the power of the human spirit in overcoming systemic oppression, offering hope to millions around the world who continue to strive for a more just and peaceful world. His autobiography Long Walk To Freedom [ http://www.amazon.com/Long-Walk-Freedom-Autobiography-Mandela/dp/0316548189 ] is the best source for understanding his religious, spiritual and humanist worldview, and most of the quotes in this overview come from that text, unless otherwise stated.
Mandela's mother was Methodist and Nelson was baptized Methodist too, though his father was a priest in his village:
He did not need to be ordained, for the traditional religion of the Xhosas is characterized by a cosmic wholeness, so that there is little distinction between the sacred and the secular.
He was quite religious for a time, as much of his education was received in Methodist schools. This influence inspired an appreciation for not only the spiritual contributions of the church, but also its importance in advancing the social needs of the people:
The Church was as concerned with this world as the next: I saw that virtually all of the achievements of Africans seemed to have come about through the missionary work of the Church.
However, later in life he also recognized how the church, specifically the Dutch Reform Church, was complicit in oppression of the African people, saying:
The (apartheid) policy was supported by the Dutch Reform Church, which furnished apartheid with its religious underpinnings by suggesting that Afrikaners were God's chosen people and that blacks were a subservient species. In the Afrikaner's worldview, apartheid and the church went hand in hand.
Another insight into the religious world view of Mandela came in the discussion of the use of violent vs. non-violent means in the struggle against apartheid. In Long Walk To Freedom, Mandela explains his difference of opinion on non-violence with Mahatma Gandhi's son, Manilal Gandhi, who was the editor of the newspaper Indian Opinion:
I saw nonviolence in the Gandhian model not as an inviolable principle but as a tactic to be used as the situation demanded. The principle was not so important that the strategy should be used even when it was self- defeating, as Gandhi himself believed. I called for nonviolent protest for as long as it was effective. This view prevailed, despite Manilal Gandhi's strong objections.
When Mandela did go to jail, it was to be for 27 long years. But according to Archbishop Desmond Tutu [ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/interviews/tutu.html ] speaking to PBS, it was a time of deep growth for him:
I think what happened to him in prison was something that you have to now accept my authority for it, that suffering can do one of two things to a person. It can make you bitter and hard and really resentful of things. Or as it seems to do with very many people--it is like fires of adversity that toughen someone. They make you strong but paradoxically also they make you compassionate, and gentle. I think that that is what happened to him.
The power of this transformation carried over into his worldview. He wrote about universal concern for humanity and justice for all in his autobiography, on the night of his election as President of South Africa:
From the moment the results were in and it was apparent that the ANC was to form the government, I saw my mission as one of preaching reconciliation, of binding the wounds of the country, of engendering trust and confidence. I knew that many people, particularly the minorities, whites, Coloureds, and Indians, would be feeling anxious about the future, and I wanted them to feel secure. I reminded people again and again that the liberation struggle was not a battle against any one group or color, but a fight against a system of repression. At every opportunity, I said all South Africans must now unite and join hands and say we are one country, one nation, one people, marching together into the future.
Perhaps nothing signifies Nelson Mandela's religious ideals more than the Commission on Truth and Reconciliation that he set up with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It serves as a testament to the idea that past wrongs should be identified and atoned for, and while not forgotten, they might be forgiven.
Now the challenge is for all of us to protect our democratic gains like the apple of our eye. It is for those who have the means, to contribute to the efforts to repair the damage brought by the past. It is for those who have suffered losses of different kinds and magnitudes to be afforded reparation, proceeding from the premise that freedom and dignity are the real prize that our sacrifices were meant to attain. Free at last, we are all masters of our destiny. A better future depends on all of us lending a hand - your hand, my hand.
In the end, perhaps the idea that best sums up Nelson Mandela's religious and spiritual outlook is the African concept of Ubuntu. Nelson Mandela himself explained the concept in this video [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HED4h00xPPA (below, as embedded)]:
A traveller through a country would stop at a village and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?
Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/06/nelson-mandela-religion-spirituality-_n_4399847.html [with (separate) embedded video report, and comments]
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The Right Wing’s Campaign To Discredit And Undermine Mandela, In One Timeline
December 6, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/home/2013/12/06/3029871/wing-timeline-mandela/ [with comments]
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Don’t Sanitize Nelson Mandela: He’s Honored Now, But Was Hated Then
If we turn the late South African leader into a nonthreatening moral icon, we’ll forget a key lesson from his life: America isn’t always a force for freedom.
December 5th 2013
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/05/don-t-sanitize-nelson-mandela-he-s-honored-now-but-was-hated-then.html [with embedded video "Facts and figures from Nelson Mandela’s life, set to the trailer from ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.’", and comments]
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People Used To Write Some Startling Things About Nelson Mandela
12/06/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/06/nelson-mandela-death-used-to-say_n_4399027.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
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Nelson Mandela Delivered One Of The Most Scathing Critiques Of Invading Iraq
12/06/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/06/nelson-mandela-iraq_n_4399015.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
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Six Things Nelson Mandela Believed That Most People Won’t Talk About
December 6, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/home/2013/12/06/3030781/nelson-mandela-believed-people-wont-talk/ [with comments]
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What Americans Can Learn From The Constitution Nelson Mandela Signed
December 6, 2013
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/12/06/3032421/americans-learn-constitution-nelson-mandela-signed/ [with comments]
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How Rachel Maddow Helped Force Bill Clinton's Support For Mandela's AIDS Plan
12/06/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/06/rachel-maddow-bill-clinton-mandela_n_4401074.html [with comments]
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Cover Story: Nelson Mandela, Hero
December 5, 2013
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/12/new-yorker-cover-nelson-mandela.html [ http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/12/new-yorker-cover-nelson-mandela.html#slide_ss_0=1 ] [with comments]
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