The Ghouse Diary: Texas Faith: How do you assess Nelson Mandela’s complex legacy?

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Texas Faith: How do you assess Nelson Mandela’s complex legacy?

How do you assess Nelson Mandela’s complex legacy?

The People of Dallas will honor Mandela by applying his principles, and initiate a symbolic reconciliation process with Native Americans on Sunday, January 26, 2014. The event is to commemorate the 7th annual Holocaust and Genocides event at Unity of Dallas. Details at: www.HolocaustandGenocides.com

Published in Dallas Morning News's weekly column Texas Faith
URL- http://theghousediary.blogspot.com/2013/12/texas-faith-how-do-you-assess-nelson.html

By Bill McKenzie / Editorial Columnist
wmckenzie@dallasnews.com
3:39 pm on December 10, 2013 | Permalink
How do you assess the complex legacy of Nelson Mandela?

There are so many ways to get into this question. So, let me start with these three quick summaries of his long journey:

In a powerful and controversial move as president, he set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after apartheid officially ended. The commission allowed those who testified about crimes in the apartheid era to step forward and tell the truth without fear of retribution. The sins of the past were acknowledged in exchange for individual amnesty.

On the other hand, Mandela was part of a group in the early 1960s that decided to take up arms against the apartheid government. They decided that rising up militarily against their oppressors was the best strategy. Of course, that was not the non-violent approach that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and Mahatma Ganhdi embraced.And then there was this revelation in Bill Keller’s obituary of Mandela in the New York Times:

Mr. Mandela said he regarded his prison experience as a major factor in his nonracial outlook. He said prison tempered any desire for vengeance by exposing him to sympathetic white guards who smuggled in newspapers and extra rations, and to moderates within the National Party government who approached him in hopes of opening a dialogue. Above all, prison taught him to be a master negotiator.

There are many aspects of his long, storied and complicated fight for justice. So, let me stop here and ask you:

What do you make of Nelson Mandela’s complex legacy?
Read on for some nuanced and insightful replies:

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism and speaker on interfaith matters, Dallas

Despite the complexity of his legacy, Nelson Mandela’s powerful legacy is his inclusionary embrace of all people, just as Jesus and other spiritual masters did.

Mandela respected the “otherness” of others and accepted the God-given uniqueness of his fellow humans. For those who are committed to building cohesive societies, where no one has to live in apprehension or fear of the other, Mandela laid a solid foundation for building such a society. I literally froze with admiration when I read, “And a guarantee that whites would not be subjected to reprisals.” That is a powerful statement and he must have taken lot of heat from some of the militants among the oppressed black majority, who were naturally raging to get even.

Mandela summed up his philosophy thus, “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination,” he told the court. “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realized. But my lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Timothy Burke’s message sums up his legacy : “Mourn the statesman and the revolutionary and the terrorist and the neoliberal and the ethicist and the pragmatist and the saint and don’t you dare try to discard or remove any part of that whole. Celebrate him? Sure, but then make sure you’re willing to consider emulating him.”

Muslims may see him as living the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who lived a full life with all the pains and joys of life that a normal human would endure for the sake of public good. The Jewish people may long for a Mandela to resurrect social justice as their core value risking the overriding need for security with ultimate justice for the inhabitants of Israel-Palestine. Hindus may see it as someone who practiced the ideals of Vasudhaiva Kutumbukum (the whole world is one family) and the Buddhists may appreciate his passive but positive action. Indeed, most religious people can relate with Mandela.

The people of Dallas will honor Mandela by applying his principles, and initiate a symbolic reconciliation process with Native Americans on Sunday, January 26, 2014. The event is to commemorate the 7th annual Holocaust and Genocides event. (www.HolocaustandGenocides.com) at Unity of Dallas.

It is about time we publicly acknowledge the wrong without fears of compensation. Native Americans deserve to be heard and acknowledged about their genocide, and we all need to put this hurt behind.

Indeed, Nelson Mandela's legacy of building cohesive societies will live on.

To read the responses of fellow panelists, please visit Dallas Morning News at: http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/texas-faith-how-do-you-assess-nelson-mandelas-complex-legacy.html/#more-32419

Additional write ups:

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, interfaith, and cohesion at work place. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. He believes in Standing up for others and a book with the same title is coming up. Mike has a strong presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through many links.
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INTRODUCTION

Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions to media and to the public on important and complex issues of the day and is available to speak in a variety of settings such as schools, seminars, conferences, and places of worship, or the work place.

Mike is a frequent guest on Fox News, (The Hannity Show), and has been interviewed on nationally syndicated Radio shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio networks and occasional interviews on NPR. He is a member of the Texas Faith panel of Dallas Morning News and writes on issues facing the nation every week. He has spoken at international forums including the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, in Melbourne, Australia, Middle East Peace Initiative, in Jerusalem, the International Leadership conference, in Hawaii, and in Washington

The Foundation for Pluralism champions the idea of co-existence by respecting and accepting the otherness of those different from ourselves. The World Muslim Congress is committed to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam. Heavily involved in both, Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and has produced outstanding public events to bring Americans together of different religions, ethnicities and races on common grounds of building a safe and secure America.

He is a speaker, thinker, collaborator and a writer on the subjects of Pluralism, the interfaith movement, cohesive societies, Islam, India, hope and world peace. Over 1000 articles of Mike’s have been published worldwide and two books are poised to be released this summer. His work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/
C
oncerned by the divisiveness, he saw the need to bring Americans together and founded America Together Foundation committed to building a cohesive America, indeed it is in response to ACT America which is bent on pitching one American against the other. We will be holding series of educational programs, conferences and workshops to address the issues that divide us such as Civil Right, GLBT, Quraan, Abortion, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racial Profiling and Stereotyping.

The Annual Unity Day USA is in its 7th year now, it is a purposeful event to bring Americans together, on this Unity Day, we the people of the United States of America of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, unity, prosperity and wellbeing of our nation.

Thanksgiving Celebration is in its 15th year showcasing cultural diversity.

The 5th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides is to learn and to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other and commit to avert such tragedies. Through this event non-Jewish people have consciously learned about Holocaust for the first time, it was also for the first time that people of 14 faiths came together to join in to commemorate the Holocaust that commemorated within the Jewish Community for years. They are not alone anymore in their anguish, we are all in it together with them, and it is a Muslim initiative to effect a positive change.

The programs, seminars and workshops conducted by the Foundation for Pluralism have become a part of the America Together Foundation. While the Foundation for Pluralism continues championing the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, the commitment to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress continues.

Mike is a speaker, thinker, collaborator and a writer on the subjects of Pluralism, the Interfaith Movement, Cohesive Societies, Islam, India, Hope and World Peace. Over 1000 of his articles have been published worldwide and two books are poised to be released this summer. His work is reflected in 4 websites and 27 Blogs indexed at http://www.mikeghouse.net

To engage Mike in a dialogue, conference or a talk, write to Ghousespeaks@gmail.com and email dedicated for this purpose or you can call him on a short notice at 214.325.1916

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Texas Faith: How do you assess Nelson Mandela’s complex legacy?

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