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Politicians Reflect On Mandela's Death

Max Schwartz |
December 5, 2013 | 3:06 p.m. PST

Senior Reporter

A statue of Nelson Mandela in Westminister, London. (Warko/Wikimedia Commons via Creative Commons)
A statue of Nelson Mandela in Westminister, London. (Warko/Wikimedia Commons via Creative Commons)
President Obama made remarks on Tuesday at 2:20 p.m. Pacific Time on the death of South African President Nelson Mandela. 

During the short speech the president said:

Nelson Mandela lived for that ideal and made it real…today, he’s gone home…he no longer belongs to us, he belongs to the ages…his commitment to transfer power…is an example all…should aspire to…Michelle and I send our deepest sympathy and gratitude for sharing this…man with us…let’s pause and give thanks….

ALSO SEE: Neon Tommy's Full Mandela Coverage

Vice President Biden released the following statement:

Because of Nelson Mandela’s courage, and compassion, that world has been transformed.  One of my favorite Irish poets, Seamus Heaney once wrote:  “History says, don’t hope on this side of the grave.  But then, once in a lifetime, the longed-for tidal wave of justice rises up, and hope and history rhyme.”  In the hands of Nelson Mandela, hope and history rhymed.  This is a better world because Nelson Mandela was in it.

Zeke Miller tweeted a statement by President George H.W. Bush on Mandela's death:

Barbara and I mourn the passing of one of the greatest believers in freedom we have had the privilege to know. As President, I watched in wonder as Nelson Mandela had the remarkable capacity to forgive his jailers following 26 years of wrongful imprisonment—setting a powerful example of redemption and grace for us all. He was a man of tremendous moral courage, who changed the course of history in this country. Barbara and I had great respect for President Mandela, and send our condolences to his family and countrymen.

Zeke Miller also tweeted a statement by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.):

Elaine and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Nelson Mandela, a man whose skillful guidance of South Africa following the end of the Apartheid regime made him one of the great statesmen of our time and a global symbol of of reconciliation. 'Madiba's' patience through imprisonment and insistence on unity over vengence in the delicate period in which he served stand as a permanent reminder to the world of the value of perseverance and the positive influence one good man or woman can have over the course of human affairs. The world mourns this great leader. May his passing lead to a deeper commitment to reconciliation around the world.

Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) issued the following statement:

Today I join my fellow members of Congress and the intentional community in mourning the loss of a great global leader and icon President Nelson Mandela. President Mandela’s struggle and sacrifice taught us that injustice and oppression must be extinguished no matter where it may exist and that protest, dialogue, forgiveness and reconciliation and are fundamental and necessary to ourselves and society.

President Mandela's fight for freedom was a personal inspiration for me. I joined countless other Americans in fighting for his freedom and for ending apartheid in South Africa. During the 27 years he spent imprisoned on Robben Island, he never lost hope and never lost his humanity. I visited Robben Island and saw the 8-by-7-foot cell he lived in. In the 1970's and 1980's, President Mandela’s example taught me that although the struggle for social and economic justice might take many years, it was my responsibility to continue that fight, and if he could keep his focus on these values, then I certainly can also.

For decades, President Mandela’s grace, his humility and self-sacrifice showed to the world his great depth and strength of character. He exemplified and left no doubt that forgiveness can be transformative beyond all measure. Nelson Mandela’s struggle embodied what was at stake, that his country, deeply divided over the oppressive and brutal polices of apartheid, had no choice but to change.

In life President Mandela taught us what it means to forgive and in death, he reminds us that the struggle for justice, freedom and peace must continue until all people no matter where they are born, or their economic status, their religion, their sexuality, or their ethnicity must be free live from persecution, intimidation, and violence. 

President Mandela will remain an inspirational figure, to me and a generation of us who, though far from South Africa, took up the cause to fight against apartheid to ensure our nation played its part to ended policies that supported South Africa’s oppressive government.

In the days, weeks and years ahead, let us celebrate President Nelson Mandela’s life, draw strength from the many lessons he taught us through his sacrifice and leadership and let us forever be reminded that his struggle, South Africa’s struggle is our global struggle.

Secretary of State John Kerry issued the following statement:

Madiba’s 'long walk to freedom' gave new meaning to courage, character, forgiveness, and human dignity. Now that his long walk has ended, the example he set for all humanity lives on. He will be remembered as a pioneer for peace.

There are some truly brave people in this world whom you meet and you’re forever changed for the experience. Nelson Mandela remains Teresa’s hero, and a person who inspired her as a young woman to march with her classmates against apartheid. We had the honor of sitting with Mandela over the Thanksgiving holidays of 2007. I was struck by how warm, open, and serene he was. I stood in his tiny cell on Robben Island, a room with barely enough space to lie down or stand up, and I learned that the glare of the white rock quarry permanently damaged his eyesight. It hit home even more just how remarkable it was that after spending 27 years locked away, after having his own vision impaired by the conditions, that this man could still see the best interests of his country and even embrace the very guards who kept him prisoner. That is the story of a man whose ability to see resided not in his eyes but in his conscience. It is hard to imagine any of us could summon such strength of character.

Nelson Mandela was a stranger to hate. He rejected recrimination in favor of reconciliation and knew the future demands we move beyond the past. He gave everything he had to heal his country and lead it back into the community of nations, including insisting on relinquishing his office and ensuring there would be a peaceful transfer of power. Today, people all around the world who yearn for democracy look to Mandela’s nation and its democratic Constitution as a hopeful example of what is possible.

Teresa and I join those from around the world in honoring the life of this great man. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife, Graça, his family, all the people of South Africa and everyone who today enjoys the freedom Madiba fought for his entire life.

Reach Senior Reporter Max Schwartz here; follow him on Twitter here.



 

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