Even as we grapple with the challenges of the unmet expectations of our freedom, it is important that we do not downplay the achievement symbolised in and by the 1994 elections.
Today it is easy for young political leaders to talk about taking power by the barrel of the gun. Or to talk about speaking to the commander-in-chief (read president) to send the army to deal with dissident political parties.
Clearly, these youth have a glorified view of war and have forgotten the violence that terrorised communities in KwaZulu-Natal, Boipatong, Katlehong, Thokoza, Vosloorus and others across our country in the lead up to 1994.
They have forgotten the torrid pictures of death, destruction and instability that have characterised many an African country.
Many across the continent and the world are bearing the seen and unseen scars of the trauma of civil war. This is the widespread pain and trauma that wise leaders saved South Africa. We should be grateful for the person of late former president Nelson Mandela that chose the path of peace over that of vengeance.
Vengeance destroys, it does not build. It fans the flames of anger and bitterness. It sears the consciences of the innocent and violates the soul of a society.
This is not what Mandela wanted for his people. He, after 27 years of suffering and reflection, came out of prison with a first- hand experience and understanding of the healing and liberating power of forgiveness.
Forgiveness turns the disempowerment of the victimised and dehumanised into a power that no one can withstand.
It was his magnanimity that attracted the awe of the world, that distinguished him from the greatest of leaders that came before and after him.
Because of him we escaped the fate of Burundi, Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, Uganda, Liberia, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Mozambique, Angola, etc.
It is better to learn from the mistakes of others than to make the same mistakes. This is the lesson we need to take with us from what we achieved as a nation in 1994.
Ours was no way near a perfect transition. It was nonetheless the best that the leaders of yesteryear could muster.
What they did was to start us on the path to reconciliation. If we haven't learned anything in the last 22 years as a nation, one thing that should be clear to us is that reconciling and transforming a nation is not an event or a series of events; it's a process.
It's also a task that cannot be put on the shoulders of one group in society.
In 2016, it's about time we accepted that black or white, Indian or Coloured, young or old, male or female, our destinies are intertwined.
We need to stop just lauding Madiba for that humility that made him the towering ethical, moral and just figure of our time. As South Africans, his fellow countrymen and women, we need to start emulating him.
This father of our nation had remarkable vision and foresight. He believed so strongly in the possibility of harmonious relations between races and an equitable and just society that he counted the realisation of that vision worthy of personal sacrifice.
Today, we are not called upon to spend the best years of our lives in prison, apart from our families and friends, deprived of the comforts and joys of life as evidence of our commitment to Mandela's vision.
We can start by cultivating empathy for one another. Empathy is what made Mandela desire to understand the Afrikaner as a person, to know what informs his thought and animates his action.
It is what prompted him to learn Afrikaans, the language that black people associated with oppression.
He sought knowledge and insight into "the enemy" in his effort to win the trust and confidence of that same "enemy" post liberation
If we are going to cultivate trust, social cohesion, a common vision and forge a united nation, we need to adopt Mandela's method.
The mistake we made is that we looked to him and thought his towering character was enough to pull us all through to the present and future that is envisaged in our constitution.
What he left us was an example.
Ours is to follow it.
Comment on Twitter @NompumeleloRunj
Let's emulate Madiba and all seek peace
Even as we grapple with the challenges of the unmet expectations of our freedom, it is important that we do not downplay the achievement symbolised in and by the 1994 elections.
Today it is easy for young political leaders to talk about taking power by the barrel of the gun. Or to talk about speaking to the commander-in-chief (read president) to send the army to deal with dissident political parties.
Clearly, these youth have a glorified view of war and have forgotten the violence that terrorised communities in KwaZulu-Natal, Boipatong, Katlehong, Thokoza, Vosloorus and others across our country in the lead up to 1994.
They have forgotten the torrid pictures of death, destruction and instability that have characterised many an African country.
Many across the continent and the world are bearing the seen and unseen scars of the trauma of civil war. This is the widespread pain and trauma that wise leaders saved South Africa. We should be grateful for the person of late former president Nelson Mandela that chose the path of peace over that of vengeance.
Vengeance destroys, it does not build. It fans the flames of anger and bitterness. It sears the consciences of the innocent and violates the soul of a society.
This is not what Mandela wanted for his people. He, after 27 years of suffering and reflection, came out of prison with a first- hand experience and understanding of the healing and liberating power of forgiveness.
Forgiveness turns the disempowerment of the victimised and dehumanised into a power that no one can withstand.
It was his magnanimity that attracted the awe of the world, that distinguished him from the greatest of leaders that came before and after him.
Because of him we escaped the fate of Burundi, Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, Uganda, Liberia, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Mozambique, Angola, etc.
It is better to learn from the mistakes of others than to make the same mistakes. This is the lesson we need to take with us from what we achieved as a nation in 1994.
Ours was no way near a perfect transition. It was nonetheless the best that the leaders of yesteryear could muster.
What they did was to start us on the path to reconciliation. If we haven't learned anything in the last 22 years as a nation, one thing that should be clear to us is that reconciling and transforming a nation is not an event or a series of events; it's a process.
It's also a task that cannot be put on the shoulders of one group in society.
In 2016, it's about time we accepted that black or white, Indian or Coloured, young or old, male or female, our destinies are intertwined.
We need to stop just lauding Madiba for that humility that made him the towering ethical, moral and just figure of our time. As South Africans, his fellow countrymen and women, we need to start emulating him.
This father of our nation had remarkable vision and foresight. He believed so strongly in the possibility of harmonious relations between races and an equitable and just society that he counted the realisation of that vision worthy of personal sacrifice.
Today, we are not called upon to spend the best years of our lives in prison, apart from our families and friends, deprived of the comforts and joys of life as evidence of our commitment to Mandela's vision.
We can start by cultivating empathy for one another. Empathy is what made Mandela desire to understand the Afrikaner as a person, to know what informs his thought and animates his action.
It is what prompted him to learn Afrikaans, the language that black people associated with oppression.
He sought knowledge and insight into "the enemy" in his effort to win the trust and confidence of that same "enemy" post liberation
If we are going to cultivate trust, social cohesion, a common vision and forge a united nation, we need to adopt Mandela's method.
The mistake we made is that we looked to him and thought his towering character was enough to pull us all through to the present and future that is envisaged in our constitution.
What he left us was an example.
Ours is to follow it.
Comment on Twitter @NompumeleloRunj
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