By Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
Nelson Mandela was more than the president of a nation. He was a gift from God to all of humanity. The world, from South Dallas to South Africa, is better because this man lived, and gave all that was within him to improving the human condition. He understood the concepts of love and redemption, and lived them each day of his life.
It was those two principles that allowed him to invite his former prison guard to be his guest at his inauguration as the first democratically-elected president of South Africa, after being imprisoned and denied his freedom for 27 years.
When many in the world believed that his country would descend into a racial war, it was President Mandela who pronounced that South Africa would become a “rainbow nation,” in which prejudice and vengeance would become prehistoric relics of the past.
Over the years I had the opportunity to work with President Mandela. He was a humble man who made everyone in his presence feel special and worthy. Like so many that knew him, I have shed my tears now that this global giant has passed.
President Mandela refused to hate even those who called for his arrest and execution. When asked how he managed not to loathe those who once tried to kill him, he said that hatred was a luxury that leaders could not afford.
The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, President Mandela was a successful lawyer before becoming a political activist in a South Africa that denied basic human rights to everyone except whites.
It would have been easy for him to turn his back on the conditions in his country and become a prosperous professional, distancing himself from the underprivileged and the poor. But there was something different inside of Mandela that said that no man is whole unless all men are whole. And thus he embarked on a life of struggle for fairness and equality. It caused him pain and separation from his family, but he was willing to pay the price.
Ultimately, President Mandela brought about a new order in South Africa, and in the world. There are few world leaders, including the president of our country, whose lives have not been touched by his example. He did not surround himself with the trappings of wealth. Social change was his objective.
Yes, there are still vast gaps between the wealthy and the poor in South Africa, just as there are in other countries in the world. Yet, the life and example of President Nelson Mandela has provided us with a roadmap, a light and a vision that, if we choose wisely, will improve conditions in the world for all people.
Thank you President Mandela for all that you did, for the life that you lived and the example that you set. Now go and take your well deserved eternal rest!
