Obama: Make Mandela's life work your own
By JULIE PACE 2 minutes ago
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JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Celebrating one of his personal heroes, President Barack
Obama praised Nelson Mandela as the last great liberator of the 20th century,
urging the world to carry on his legacy by fighting inequality, poverty and
discrimination.
- Obama urges world to act on
Mandela legacy Associated Press
- Obama leads world tributes to
Mandela at memorial AFP
- Obama, Castro shake hands as
world says farewell to peacemaker Mandela Reuters
At a memorial service in Johannesburg, Obama compared
the former South African President to Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr.
and Abraham Lincoln.
"Nothing he achieved was inevitable," Obama said.
"In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history
through struggle and shrewdness, persistence and faith. He tells us what's
possible not just in the pages of dusty history books, but in our own lives as
well."
The crowd at the half-filled stadium erupted in applause each time
Obama's name was mentioned or his image was shown on the screen. Dozens
gathered below the box seats where Obama and other U.S. presidents sat, waving
and snapping pictures of the leaders.
As if to underscore the spirit of reconciliation that Mandela's
life embodied, Obama shook hands with Cuban President Raul Castro as he made
his way down a line of world leaders gathered to honor the anti-apartheid
leader. It was a rare moment of accord for the leaders of the two Cold War
enemies.
Calling himself a beneficiary of Mandela's struggle, Obama traced
the influence that Mandela's story has had on his own life, disclosing that he
asks himself how well he's applied Mandela's lessons to himself as a man and as
president.
He said in the U.S., South Africa and around the world, people
must not allow progress that's been made to cloud the fact that more work must
be done.
"We, too, must act on behalf of justice.
We, too, must act on behalf of peace. There are too many of us who happily
embrace Madiba's legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even
modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing
inequality," Obama said, referring
to Mandela by his traditional clan name.
Extolling Mandela as practical but unyielding on his core
principles, Obama said it was because Mandela could admit to being imperfect
that the world loved him and continues to learn so much from his example.
"He was not a bust made of marble. He was a man of flesh and blood,"
Obama said.
He said Mandela had changed both laws and hearts, inspiring those
around him by reconciling with the jailers who kept him prisoner for 27 years.
In trusting others despite the injustices he suffered, Mandela showed that the
cruelty of the past must be confronted with truth, generosity and inclusion,
Obama said.
"We will never see the likes of Nelson Mandela again,"
Obama said. "But let me say to the people of Africa, and young people
around the world: You can make his life's work your own."
Joining Obama on the 16-hour trip from Washington for the ceremony
were first lady Michelle Obama, former President George W. Bush and his wife,
Laura, and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Former Presidents
Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter also attended the memorial service.
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visualization and verbal intent to
Co-create a peaceful world now...
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