Washington, D.C.
- President Barack Obama: 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've 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."
Nelson Mandela lived for that ideal and he made it real.
He achieved more than could be expected of any man.
Today he's gone home and we've 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 in 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'm 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 would study his words and his writings.
The day he was released from prison it 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 Graca 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 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 that 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, 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 towards justice.
May God bless his memory and keep him in peace.