Ask yourself what Madiba would do

It seems a lifetime ago that a man in a grey suit walked into the summer sunshine outside Victor Verster Prison in Paarl, waving to the crowds. That day in February 1990 was the true watershed in South African history: the country would never again be the same. Apartheid would be dismantled and a government elected on a true one person, one vote basis.

The world had not seen Nelson Mandela for 27 years since he was locked up in 1963 and he was received then almost as a Messiah, the man who would deliver South Africa from evil.

It is testament to his towering charisma and genuine commitment to nonracism that he became the iconic symbol of promise for what optimists called the Rainbow Nation and built bridges between the divided peoples of South Africa.

But, it is easy, given the fractious, race-obsessed, angry country that we have become, to dismiss Mandela’s legacy as political naivete. His detractors will claim that his overly soft attitude towards the former colonisers and his commitment to reconciliation at the expense of transformation, contributed to the situation in which we find ourselves today.

While there is some merit in all of the differing views of Mandela, there can be no do doubt that he loved this country and its people – in all their shapes and forms and political beliefs – deeply.

As we mark his birthday today, all of us can honour him – if not by carrying out 67 minutes of community service, then by simply watching ourselves as we interact with others, especially those who are different from us.

Before the angry, or racist, words spring to your tongue, or before you leap to judgments based on the colour of a person’s skin, just ask: what would Madiba do?