Nelson Mandela is one of the greatest examples the world has ever known. As President Obama put it, I am also one of the many millions he has inspired. “Long Walk to Freedom” the biography about his life, is one of my most favorite books. You can still get inspiration from his words every day.
“I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days.”
– Nelson Mandela
Difficulties break some men but make others. No ax is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end.”
– Nelson Mandela
“Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for eternity.”
– Nelson Mandela
“Those who conduct themselves with morality, integrity and consistency need not fear the forces of inhumanity and cruelty.”
– Nelson Mandela
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it….The good man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
– Nelson Mandela
President Obama on Nelson Mandela:
The day he was released from prison gave me an idea of what people can do when they are guided by their hopes and not by their fears.
“I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela's life,” Obama continued, citing his own protests against apartheid as one of his first political actions. “I cannot fully imagine my own life without the example set by Nelson Mandela.”
“We will not likely see the likes of Nelson Mandela again,” the President said. “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 is the arc of the moral universe toward justice.