Re: Nelson Mandela
Quote:
"Is any application of ethics more of an assessment of the adjudicator than of the object of adjudication?" |
Re: Nelson Mandela
You can sit from the comfort of a warm home with a guarantee of free speech, grabbing soundbites from google, from a position when the last time one of your countrymen was violently oppressed was 1066. And it's oh so easy to pretend that you would not use violence or terrorism to simply be treated as an equal or to protect your family.
You can expect that people will call you by the name given to you by your parents and not changed when you start school. You can expect not to be awoken by police breaking your door in because of the colour of your skin or the area where you live. Mandela was not an angel, he was a bloke...a bloke who screwed up in his youth and made good when he grew up (haven't we all to a lesser degree). For a very brief period he got South Africa, one of the most volatile countries on the planet, back on track. For one moment simply by wearing a rugby shirt he knocked the stuffing out of apartheid. His legacy of forgiveness, level headedness and oratory skills make him a great man. You cannot blame him for the current state of South Africa, one single man can only have an idea..it's up to everyone else to decide whether that idea is valid..and where politicians are concerned..nuff said! |
Re: Nelson Mandela
Quote:
|
Re: Nelson Mandela
Quote:
Anyone can take a couple of lines from a post and ignore the three paragraph argument that went before |
Re: Nelson Mandela
Quote:
|
Re: Nelson Mandela
If the Nazis had invaded Britain in 1940, doubtless a British Resistance movement would have been sprung up. They would've planted bombs, killing Germans and probably a few Brits as well. What would they have been?...terrorists?...or freedom fighters?
What was Mandela supposed to do? Go cap-in-hand to the government and say "please, Mr De Clerk, stop this nasty apartheid system and let us be equal to you?" Minority government don't just stand aside and say, "after you, old boy". It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to wrest power from them. Innocents shouldn't have been killed in the process, but, then again, we've killed plenty of innocents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe we're terrorists, too. And, yes, the post-apartheid government has not lived up to its promise - government don't usually - but I'll bet the majority in SA wouldn't want to go back to the old regime. Mandela was a great man - flawed as are many great men - but a great man nonetheless. |
Re: Nelson Mandela
Opinion changes & disappears with time Wynonie. No one can change their past. They can change their future. choose to do good with the time that remains. No doubt Nelson Mandela followed that path of righteousness in his later years as have Gerry Adams and his mate McGuinness. I’ll not be elbowing anybody out of the way to be a pall-bearer at their funerals though.
|
Re: Nelson Mandela
Quote:
Though it does happen Quite a great deal here on AccyWeb, take for example my above sentence. I put it on not to canonize nor to condemn a man that has been prominent during my life time. Within 30 minutes I was told basically, to slow down with my praise and given a list of the bad things in the guys life and the same poster keeps reproducing that post in various forms if anyone even slightly offers the man praise. Well, allow me to repeat myself then explain slowly why I said what I said. Quote:
Why? not because I was ignorant of his early life, nor did I think he was perfect once he got into power. It was said because he had been a guy that did do bad things but later on tried, to do good things. I'm an Atheist, but from what I understand some guy said something about a sinner repenting and being welcomed back. I didn't say it was him, I said it could be him. He was a man, he wasn't perfect, I didn't try to make him out as bad nor good, just a message of goodbye, I didn't say he would get in, I just hinted that when placed on the scales his good might outweigh his bad and allow him some peace. ;) |
Re: Nelson Mandela
Quote:
Would that we had some man with such skills to lead us......all we have are self serving braying donkeys. |
Re: Nelson Mandela
Quote:
In the words of the great man himself, " I will bow to your greater knowledge in this area" |
Re: Nelson Mandela
Quote:
:p |
Re: Nelson Mandela
Quote:
Mandela promised many things in his Rainbow Nation, as do his successors, but achievements lack far behind the promises. |
Re: Nelson Mandela
I pay tribute to Nelson Mandela .
After his release from prison he showed himself to be a man of integrity . He opposed revenge in favour of peace , forgiveness and reconciliation . He wore no mask . What you saw was the real Madiba . He was and still is an inspiration for many . May the cynics be confounded , and may South Africa develop into a peaceful and forgiving country where justice flourishes . Thanks Nelson Mandela , you are a giant amongst dwarfs . |
Re: Nelson Mandela
Quote:
|
Re: Nelson Mandela
Quote:
And, yes, the SA government has far from fulfilled its promises. It's still a step in the right direction away from the hateful apartheid regime and whatever the deficiencies of the present administration, I doubt that the majority would want to return to the previous system. |
All times are GMT. The time now is 20:26. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.1
© 2003-2013 AccringtonWeb.com