Long Walk to Freedom

Демократия означала, что каждый должен был быть услышан, и конечное решение принималось только совместно, отражая волю всего племени. Правило большинства на этих собраниях было чуждым понятием. Мнение меньшинства не должно было быть раздавлено мнением большинства.

Бег преподал мне ценные уроки. Для стайеров тренировка значила гораздо больше, чем врожденные способности, и я мог компенсировать недостаток природных способностей усердием и дисциплиной. Необходимо отметить, что я применял это во многих областях. На этапе своей студенческой жизни мне приходилось встречать многих молодых людей, которые обладали большими природными способностями, но у которых не хватало самодисциплины и терпения, чтобы развить свой дар.

I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lay defeat and death.

“Over Our Dead Bodies” was a dynamic slogan, but it proved as much a hindrance as a help. A slogan is a vital link between the organization and the masses it seeks to lead. It should synthesize a particular grievance into a succinct and pithy phrase, while mobilizing the people to combat it. Our slogan caught the imagination of the people, but it led them to believe that we would fight to the death to resist the removal. In fact, the ANC was not prepared to do that at all.

"...лідер, казав він, подібний до пастуха. Він іде за стадом, даючи найпрудкішим виходити наперед, після чого йдуть інші, не усвідомлюючи, що весь цей час їх скеровують ззаду. "

I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. I felt fear myself more times than I can remember, but I hid it behind a mask of boldness. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

To make peace with an enemy one must work with that enemy, and that enemy becomes one’s partner.