As Prez Lincoln was pronounced dead, one of the men in the room (I don't recall whom) said the "belongs to the ages" thing about Lincoln.

Wonder if POTUS was intentionally drawing that parallel in light of both men being seen as liberators.

half the school kids in illinois would recognize that quote.

It was a very gracious and poetic thing for him to say about Lincoln. They didn't get along too well, except as partners managing the war together.

Good for President Obama. It was the perfect thing for him to say.

Not at all surprising, Aristus~

Nooo... I'd readily stake my own life on it too.

exactly right, she~ Mahalo!

Nelson Mandela invited the guards at his prison on Robben Island to his Inauguration and he didn't want to punish Botha and De Klerk. That's another thing PBO and Mandela have in common.

He is known for it...



His sculpture was inspired by L Ron Hubbard’s statement: "From Southern Africa will spring the next great civilization on this planet..." and Nelson Mandela’s work with children, his attitude towards our young achievers and the joy he expresses in their achievements.

His dance, the "Madiba Jive", symbolized for the artist this joy, which itself is inspiring and is what communicates the "Madiba Magic" that he is so well known for.

http://www.thetastudios.co.za/madiba-magic-nelson-mandela-statue.html


When Mandela was running for the presidency in 1994, he knew that symbols mattered as much as substance. He was never a great public speaker, and people often tuned out what he was saying after the first few minutes. But it was the iconography that people understood. When he was on a platform, he would always do the toyi-toyi, the township dance that was an emblem of the struggle. But more important was that dazzling, beatific, all-inclusive smile.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024143721

Madiba Jive! He understood again like President Obama that symbolism matters as much as substance!

There it is..



http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=4140433

A Trifecta, Cha!

the man has certainly earned his rest. Godspeed to him.

And it was good that he got to see the apartheid fall and be part of that.

A good long life, especially considering all those years in prison!

I could almost hear a voice in my head asking, "Are you in jail with Mandela?" Helped my perspective.

Tears that we lost him, yet he left us a legacy that will forever.

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