Desmond Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness
I chose this one out of the several options possible today because it struck a chord, other options were humorous or spiritual, they made me smile or made me feel closer to God. This one however, emphasises humanity. It highlights not the undoubted greatness, moral worth or status of the Commissioners of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but their humanity.
On a day when the world mourns the passing of one of the great leaders of our time, a man who inspired many to stand up and fight against oppression and injustice, what strikes me as most important to remember is not just Mandela's greatness, but his humanity. If we raise him up to be an ideal, a lofty hero, a great colossus, we place him out of our reach. He becomes someone we can admire, but not someone we can ever hope to be. And we should hope to be, we should strive to be as great, in magnanimity, in forgiveness, in speaking out against injustice wherever we encounter it and fighting for what we believe in.
Too often we look at people like Mandela, and think they are great, they are blessed by God in order to be able to see the world in that way, to fight so hard for what they believe in, to forgive; and in doing so we forget that we ourselves are capable of the same, that we can be strong, and fight for what we believe in, and love our neighbour, and forgive those who hurt us. Humanity unites us all, as it did the Commissioners and the testifiers at the TRC, and we must remember that.
No comments:
Post a Comment