We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people. We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity — a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a vision of hope and unity for all South Africans, emphasizing dignity and peace.
Nelson Mandela's quote reflects his commitment to fostering a society in which every individual, irrespective of race, can live with dignity and without fear. It highlights the importance of hope in overcoming adversity and signifies a collective responsibility to build a future where all South Africans can thrive together in harmony, embracing their diversity as a strength rather than a division.
Themes
HopeUnityDignitySouth AfricaPeace
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a speech about the importance of social justice and equality.
More from Nelson Mandela
All quotes →What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
Nelson MandelaRead
The past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future, but it does not dictate our choices. We should look back at the past and select what is good, and leave behind what is bad.
Nelson MandelaRead
We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people.
Nelson MandelaRead
After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one's person.
Nelson MandelaRead
I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
Nelson MandelaRead
Similar quotes
Force always attracts men of low morality, and I believe it to be an invariable rule that_x000D_ tyrants of genius are succeeded by scoundrels.
Albert EinsteinRead
Ask yourself these two questions: Do I remember at every moment that I am dying, and that everyone and everything else is, and so treat all beings at all times with compassion? Has my understanding of death and impermanence become so keen and so urgent that I am devoting every second to the pursuit of enlightenment? If you can answer "yes" to both of these, then you really understand impermanence.
Sogyal RinpocheRead
Let no man posture as an advocate of peace if he proposes or supports any social system that initiates the use of force against individual men, in any form.
Ayn RandRead
Man must reconcile himself to his natural greatness.... he must not forget that he is a person.
Pope John Paul IiRead
It is one of the greatest problems. It will appear very paradoxical, but this is true - before you can lose your ego, you must attain it. Only a ripe fruit falls to the ground. Ripeness is all. An unripe ego cannot be thrown, cannot be destroyed. And if you struggle with an unripe ego to destroy and dissolve it, the whole effort is going to be a failure. Rather than destroying it, you will find it more strengthened, in new and subtle ways.
RajneeshRead
Why did God create mankind? Because God likes stories.
Jonathan SacksRead