“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” – Nelson Mandela
Rest in Peace, Nelson Mandela
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With the thanks of the world.
Indeed. Figuring out what I am going to do in class tomorrow.
Well said, Pat.
Kevin, would it be useful to note the historical references to, for example, Martin Luther King (bending the moral arc of the universe towards justice) and Lincoln (or rather Stanton: now he belongs to the ages) in the President’s beautiful statement?
That’s one helluva quote. He lived up to it, and he convinced others to live up to it too, which is probably more remarkable.
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
-Invictus
Nathan Towne
I had the pleasure of hearing him speak over a decade ago at Southern University in Baton Rouge. I’m glad I went. He was a good man.
Like many, I am impressed by what he endured and awed by his forgiveness.