Nelson Mandela was a living legend you don't get to live with a lot of Legends
while you're
got your short time on earth here I was around when martin luther king was alive
I wasn't around when FDR was alive
and Nelson Mandela was our legend
and he passed today he was 95 years old
got a Nobel Peace Prize from 1993 obviously brought
South Africa out of apartheid and into a democracy
enough good things cannot be said of him but what i want.
do was give you a little bit a background and so that you begin to
understand why the man was such a
legend for small back in the
in 1952 and I did not know this until today
he had set up the first black law firm in South Africa
so little details they give you insight into his character was Mandela and Tambo
in 1956 he was accused of treason he stood trial was acquitted
in 1961 later he lead this what they call the spear
%uh the nation which was the militant faction other
African National Congress which he had led and
started up so now the South African government went after him for that
and they wind up giving in my life sentence now a lot of people
judge you for that I remember Rush Limbaugh once the segment saying
Nelson Mandela was a terrorist no I didn't say that back in the nineteen
sixties of course
he said after Nelson Mandela had liberated South Africa and had done
entirely peacefully and had made sure to protect the minority in South Africa
which of course
where whites but nonetheless of course
some on the right wing have never forgiven him for that and the reality is
the entirety of his career showed
just about as well as anyone has ever shown in human history
that you can accomplish amazing things through peace not through violence
now what happened after he went to prison we went to prison for twenty
seven years 18 over those
he served on Robben Island where he worked at a quarry
doing hard labor literally breaking rocks
for eighteen years and they would keep a timer on him as well as all the other
air prisoners and if they went to the bathroom for too long
or the dare to rest too long they would get in trouble and anytime
a prisoner got in trouble where did they go they went to nelson mandela
who would always represent them so no matter how what kind of a tough spot he
himself was and
he never bent on his principles and was there for everyone else
and everyone clamored to sit with him at lunch to get his guidance in this
council
you know that in his prison cell there is no bread whatsoever
he had their sleeper eighteen years on a cold hard floor
there's no bathroom you had to go into a bucket
picture him on that cold floor
with a bucket in the corner well he did get
visitors once a year for 30 minutes
every six months to get the sent a letter now every once in a while you're
here current-day leader whether it's in this country or another
say things are too hard we can get that done
it's not possible you can't do that i think im Nelson Mandela in that prison
cell
bearing that preteen years bearing the imprisoned for 27 years
an amp I'm positive that in that twenty-seven years
many many people told them hey you're crazy this can get done
you wanna talk about on Iran will and when he came out he pours he was elected
the first democratically elected president
up South Africa and what did he do he went on:
to not only knew the truth and reconciliation task force where
they did not punish the the former
apartheid regime the just got to the truth
so that the country could heal they did not act out Avengers
all the great leaders Abraham Lincoln said we should not punish
the South after the Civil War FDR said we should not punish
the germans and the Japanese after world war two
forgiving healing Martin Luther King talk about how you can
lead out of the darkness with the more darkness you can only lead out amid
with more light and that's exactly what nelson mandela
mandela did in his lifetime of course gone be another great example that
one other thing about when he was in prison you know that in 1985 president
PW Botha said the Nelson Mandela
I will let you out a prison you just have to agree to
conduct yourself as we tell you through non-violence et cetera Nelson Mandela
was already on the path
non-violence at that point but
they want him to sign a bunch of things could have been let out on that path
herbal
terrible imprisonment that he'd been saved is serving for decades
here's what his response was what freedom in my being offered
while the organization the people remains banned
only freemen can negotiate a prisoner
cannot enter into contracts
any state who among today's leaders would have that kind of courage
to stay in that all for awful prison
so anytime somebody tell you some can't be done thing about Nelson Mandela on a
cold hard floor
and how they told him he couldn't be done does anybody else have that kinda
willpower to stay
imprisoned for 27 years to get it done and then to be so great and
that when you come out you're not bitter about it and you say the first thing you
do is say hey
we're gonna protect everyone's here everyone's rights
because that invite for a black South Africa I fought for all of South Africa
in fact one of the reasons he became famous is because during his trial
he said this during my lifetime
I have dedicated myself to the struggle the African people
I fought against white domination and I fought against black domination
I have cherished ideal up 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 teach Eve
but if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die
luckily for all of us he did not die at that point
lived a long life to the age in 95 and even after he
got out of office what he do you work towards children's causes
fought aids in South after which claimed the Sun
and fought so many different fights to make sure
justice was served not just in South Africa but throughout the world
truly a leader for that ages now was honor to be on the same planet as him
for however long we were together and now he's left us
and it is a great Boyd avoid %uh probably cannot be felt
a living legend has passed