THE BLACK PIMPERNEL! Anyone who wants to see new things in his environment has to take the role of a pioneer. And, more importantly, anybody who wants to bring change has to take the responsibility with courage, confidence, and hope! Then, it is a defining characteristic of pioneers of change to say “there is no other time and there are no other people. It is now and here. And it is us”. Nonetheless, the road for men who shoulder such a responsibility is not strait! There are long and narrow tunnels; mountains and valleys; flats and speed bumps. Interestingly, however, such men have got the stamina and vigor to turn these challenges into opportunities and use them as a rearview mirror to learn from their past while moving forward. Such men have to persevere. Such men have to suffer. Such men have to sacrifice. And more than most, such men must be optimistic that the future holds something brighter and have to keep on walking. I have found such a man, and measured him against Ayn Rand’s philosophy a man with purpose, and found him to be a perfect ring to fit into her finger. Her philosophy is that a man with purpose has to have self-esteem, has to accomplish a productive work, and has to be rational. Madiba has got those qualities in a delicate balance. His Greatest Wisdom is Patience! He is an ordinary man who came from a tiny rural village but end up being a great leader because of extraordinary circumstances and his exceedingly amazing patience. He is not a brilliant person with an exceptionally high IQ, but he is a diligent and disciplined person who replaced his lack of intelligence with diligence, patience, and discipline. He is from a Xhosa tribe and his name is Rolihlahla with a colloquial meaning of a ‘trouble maker’. Although there is no direct connection between names and behaviors, he made many “troubles” as well as endured a great deal of ordeals. Warders enjoyed urinating at him; his body absorbed moisture from the damp walls of prison cells; he was left in the routine life of prison which was meant to break his spirit and destroy his resolve; he was left into a solitary confinement which he described as “the most forbidding aspect of a prison life”; and prison and the authorities conspired to rob his dignity more times than one. He lost his job, he lost his wife, he lost his family, he lost his properties, but he never lost his way! There were many dark moments where his faith in humanity was sorely tested, but he never gave up himself to despair. He stood still and persevered. He was fundamentally optimistic, and part of his being an optimist is keeping his head pointed towards the sun, and one feet moving forward. This way, he kept walking his walk. This way, he defeated defeat. And this way, he defeated death. A Great Compromiser! He is rather known well as Nelson Mandela, and what Mandela did in terms of compromise, at the risk of exaggeration, verges on the impossible. He was ready to forgive to the very people who designed the apartheid system-a system with a constitution that enshrined inequality and an army that responded to non-violence with force. He was ready to forgive for the very people who conspired with the system and put him to prison for life. And he was ready to negotiate with the very people who were finding time to put an end to his life. He was doing these not because there were no other options, but because he is rational and understand the fact that “man’s goodness is a flame that can only be hidden, but that can never be extinguished” This way, he recognized that what went wrong is with the system, not with the people and this is well indicated in one of his speeches which goes like this: “I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there was mercy and humanity. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be thought to love for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite” Mandela is not a kind of person who makes vows in storms and let his people down once the storm is over. He is a person who takes calculated risks and plans a head of time. He is preoccupied with the ideal that the chain on any one is a chain on all of the people. He is animated and inspired by the principle that in life every man has a twin obligation: an obligation to his family and an obligation to his people, his community and his country. And to achieve this, he toiled and troubled to finding affinities with the enemy rather than focusing on differences. A Man with Purpose! Nonetheless, the popular misconception is that Mandela is considered as a freedom fighter for the Blacks. Yes he is Black and he is proud of being Black. In fact, his and his comrade’s slogan was “Black by nature and Proud by choice!” But Mandela is a spectacularly stunning and a rationally lucid person who fought for the equality of all South Africans, and beyond: not for the domination of one man over the other. And this position of him time and again is clearly put in his speech: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African People. 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 achieve. But, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die” Mandela walked that long walk to freedom. He tried not to falter, but made missteps along the way. In the end, he discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. He took a moment of rest. But he said he can rest only for a moment for with freedom comes responsibilities, and the long walk to freedom is not yet ended. Mandela may die, but his death will make him more alive! Although there are other comrades who battled with him, Mandela stood first among equals. Mandela is a secular-saint, to be sure. And let me borrow his words and put a concluding remark. In Plato’s allegory of metal the philosopher classified men into groups of Gold, Silver and Lead. Mandela is gold: gold in his personal character and diligence; gold in his warmth and humanity; gold in his tolerance and rationality; gold in his unfailing loyalty and self-sacrifice … As much as I respected him as a leader, this is how much I love him as a man! Ababa University named a building after him, and I am delighted to dedicate this piece to Mandela which largely is based on his book “Long Walk to Freedom”
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 11:40:07 +0000
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