HOW WE SEE IT

King, Mandela Sought Changes For Equality

"I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Nelson Mandela made this speech to a South African court in 1964 as he faced the death penalty in a trial for sabotage. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Nearly 46 years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was slain in Memphis and 31 years after President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a holiday in his honor, it’s easy to view the civil rights icon as almost messianic and without blemish. People who earn national and state holidays seem larger than life, especially so far removed from their presence with us on this Earth.

King led this nation — yes, some of its residents kicking and screaming — into a more just reflection of its ideals. In so doing, King modeled for all the great possibilities that can be realized not by a man who is sinless, but by one who strives for the greater good in spite of human weakness and frailty.

Let us remember another iconic figure born 11 years before King in a far-away place, but whose death this year gave the world an opportunity to reflect on the power of reconciliation. In 1990, Nelson Mandela emerged from a South African prison 26 years after his conviction for sabotage, having refused at least three conditional offers of release in his pursuit of an end to institutional inequality.

Mandela had worked almost his entire adult life as an activist trying to end oppression of black South Africans by a white government. At times, that effort included violent protests. At others, he urged nonviolent actions. After his release in 1990, few could have blamed him for reacting with anger and seeking vengeance as the nation trudged toward the societal change necessary for the future of South Africa. But Mandela found an inner strength to deliver just what a divided nation needed — forgiveness and a willingness to reach out to his oppressors.

Mandela’s life is that of a flawed man doing his best to affect positive change. It is not that he or Martin Luther King Jr. were born to greatness, but that they seized the opportunities for change and embraced the higher calling of building bridges for the future rather than giving in to retribution for past mistreatment. In doing so, Mandela and King changed not just their nations, but the world in which we live this day.

The two men provide for us shining examples of the effectiveness of nonviolence and the power of reconciliation. Their approaches require greatness, but it’s a characteristic that can be found within us all with a great deal of effort.

Today we hail these men for the better world they helped to build and for giving those of us left new opportunities to pursue equality and justice for all.

CASUALTY OF WAR

To honor the men and women in our armed forces and remind our readers of their sacrifices, this newspaper is publishing Department of Defense announcements identifying Americans killed in active military operations.

Navy Petty Offcer 1st Class James L. Smith, 38, of Huffman, Texas, died Dec. 11 in Landstuhl, Germany, from a noncombat related incident. Smith was assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 28, Shreveport, La.

Upcoming Events