Nelson Mandela said “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to know your enemy. Then he becomes your partner”

Now before I too, get all sorts of comments, I am not saying Cruz is the enemy! What I am saying is that Nelson Mandela recognised that it was necessary for all sides and participants to engage and be able to have their point of view and beliefs heard and respected if there was to be a country left to live in. It was either that or a civil war.

It wasn’t the popular view point and Nelson Mandela came under huge criticism for it. I am not going to cover all the talks and agreements and how our country became the rainbow nation. I am not a political expert or historian and it would be wrong to not give an astounding piece of history the respect it deserves.

What I do know is that Nelson Mandela was right. We had been fed a whole lot of propaganda through the media, and every one of our viewpoints was moulded from what we were fed through the news forums (in much the way social media today can be misread, and misunderstood). We had been kept apart from each other and told that this was our enemy coming to take all that is ours.

When all that was lifted and the everyday, average man came to meet and work and socialise and go to school and talk to each other. We discovered we had,as you said, a lot more in common then we thought. We all wanted to live in peace, we wanted our children to be happy and free. We were sick of fighting and fear, and sick of leaders who weren’t listening to the people and who wanted to hold on to the past.

Now once again, I’m not saying it is the perfect solution, the rainbow nation has many obstacles and injustices to overcome. There are always enough different viewpoints and cultures and greed and fear to make utopia an almost unatainable dream! But as a South African who faced civil war as a very real prospect, and through people being prepared to listen, understand and engage for the sake of the country and its people, we instead celebrated an election in which all people could vote! I dont understand why your father is being labelled for simply wanting to hear and know and listen to someone’s else’s point of view — especially somebody who may have a huge impact on everyone’s life. Surely, it’s what you should do anyway, before you cast that vote!

The sole act of understanding and engaging is, to me, the very essence of democracy — the freedom to do so is something all Americans value and what my country(South Africa) has had to and continues to, work so hard to achieve.

This is of course, my personal opinion, and the fact that I can express it freely and without fear, is a basic human right and one we should all continue to strive for.