RIP Nelson Mandela 1918 – 2013

A bright light on the planet sadly went dark today.

In a world of partisan before principle politics and in a world where reality TV vapid nonsense drives so much of the societal voice  Nelson Mandela was an extremely rare man.  A principled, humble, moral, forgiving and an inclusive politician.  In a world where so much less is expected of our politicians and indeed so much less is given by them  Nelson Mandela was a truly global statesman and a global hero.

During his 27 years in prison he said he was cheered and sustained by the poem ‘Invictus’.  He certainly lived the final two lines of the poem. He was the master of this fate and he was the captain of his soul.  RIP Madiba.

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.

William Ernest Henley