We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
Our freedom is also incomplete, dear compatriots, as long as we are denied our security by criminals who prey on our communities, who rob our businesses and undermine our economy, who ply their destructive trade in drugs in our schools, and who do violence against our women and children.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True freedom requires security and safety from crime and violence.
In this quote, Nelson Mandela emphasizes that freedom is not truly achieved when citizens live in fear of crime and violence. He highlights the responsibility of the society to ensure safety and security, particularly against criminals who threaten the well-being of communities, businesses, and families, indicating that real freedom encompasses safety from harm and the protection of vulnerable members of society.
Themes
FreedomSecurityCrimeCommunityViolence
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on community safety, one might reference this quote to stress the importance of creating a secure environment.
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.
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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.
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We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people.
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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.
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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.
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