My "Mandela moment"

[KentuckyWoman]

In 1994 on a beautiful April day I was driving in my old beater out in the middle of nowhere, wondering if it would get me home this time. I turned on news talk radio to drown out banging from the engine. It was all about the election in South Africa. How people walked for DAYS and stood in line for days more for the chance to vote. Nelson Mandela had been elected.

I had to pull the car to the side to have a long hard cry. To this day, I've not been fully able to explain why I was so deeply moved. But I was - in so many different ways all at once. I have never missed an election since that day. Stood in the icy rain for hours more than once. Got fired from a job once. Very small sacrifices really.

Publicly, I thank Mr. Mandela and all the people of South Africa for taking generations of pain and hurt and turning it into something that is a light to the world. Thank you for making me more aware of the privileges I have in America and the responsibility to keep the opportunities for the generations behind me.

[Cha]

1. Thank you for that, KentuckyWoman..

Nerdy Wonka @NerdyWonka
Follow Mandela: “When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace” 12:10 PM - 5 Dec 2013
117 Retweets 40 favorites ReplyRetweetFavorite

http://theobamadiary.com/

[Bonobo]

2. Mine was also in 1984

I and 135 others at the University of Iowa occupied the University president's office and were arrested demanding that they divest from South Africa.

In the end, they did.

[upi402]

3. A big hats-off to you

Thanks for your service

[Bonobo]

4. Thanks.

It was a great moment. A time when we felt we could really change things.

[Mnemosyne]

5. The world is a bit dimmer today. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. I confess, I just missed an election

Not by my own wish. My brother passed, I had to fly down. I never, ever vote absentee. I am now rethinking that one.