This was the same week when , if many of the immature of my generation had learnt anything, they would have been deeply challenged by the words and life of Nelson Mandella.
Where is that acerbic wit when it comes to tributes to a real leader ? Perhaps I missed it ? Perhaps the ABC even censor Phillip ? A more dangerous great leader was not afraid to offer the truth to the audience " what did you expect to see , a reed shaken with the wind? "
·If the ABC were a mature bunch , they would not have tried to squeeze Mandella into a hero mold of their own making. A windmill touting wanderer whose only cause is changing others in the bad name of revolution; A windmill touting reactionary whose faith is in automatic progress; who would kill there own children and leave them homeless in the faith of such foolishness . Windmill touting , reed focused wanderers who don't stay long enough in one place intellectually to learn the liberating freedom of knowing something worth reforming .
The one thing our BB ABC won't be remembered for is their ability to distinguish reformation from revolution, childish preoccupations from truly mature ones. Hooked on a fast ride to the future they use up the fuel , but provide no landing homes for a future generation.
A young man recalls being at a rally angry with Mandella
He came to see things in a totally new way.
This man is right. At this moment, he is the father of all of us here, and he is acting like a true parent, refusing to let us get ourselves into trouble.
I won't be bidding goodbye to a soft man. Rather, I'll be saying goodbye to a man fierce enough to love his people without fear. In doing so, in large measure, he saved us from ourselves. May we never forget him.
If only Australia had more men like himin public life
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