Madiba... a saint?

Not many leaders in history have inspired such universal admiration as Nelson Mandela. He became a symbol of courage, justice, freedom, forgiveness, harmony and hope. He had many virtues, including resistance, wisdom, empathy, eloquence and grace.

But he was also a politician, albeit a charismatic, high-minded, idealistic one. As such, he had a big ego and a sense of destiny which some considered delusional. He was ambitious, very early on declared himself the future leader of his country. He was calculating, cooperating and compromising with the white supremacists in order to eliminate the apartheid system. He was also a cunning negotiator, refusing conditional release from prison so that he could be seen as a symbol of resistance.

Mandela was pragmatic, compromising his movement’s radical idealism (which included the redistribution of land) for the sake of its primary goal: political equality between races. In the early part of his career, he even supported physical violence in the service of equality: “It is useless and futile for us to continue talking peace and non-violence against a government whose reply is only savage attacks” he said. Only later did he fully reject violence to achieve progress.

Many of the character traits that equipped him to achieve great things were similar to those we deplore in less celebrated leaders. Mandela was an ordinary human being and no saint, but his political brain worked in the service of a great ideal, being a force for tremendous good in the world. In an age of cynicism he offered the hope that idealism combined with cool judgement can change the world. As he put it: “A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination.”

Questions:

1. Do you think violence can ever be justified in the struggle for freedom?
2. Who are the political leaders that inspire you (dead or alive)?
3. How cynical are you about politics?