I was so hooked by the fight for freedom that nothing mattered to us so long as we fulfilled the dream of years and years of our people being liberated. I thought normal life would come the day after.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the significance of fighting for freedom and liberation over the comforts of normalcy.
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela reflects on the deep commitment and passion involved in the struggle for freedom, indicating that the fight overshadowed all other aspects of life. She highlights the expectation that achieving liberation would lead to a swift return to normal life, underscoring the sacrifices made in pursuit of justice and the sometimes painful aftereffects of such a devoted struggle.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech addressing the importance of activism and perseverance in the face of oppression.
In the normal course of things, journalists want their story, and as soon as they are through with it, they pack their cameras and go. That was never the impression that David Astor gave when you were interviewed by him. It was far deeper than that.
One of the greatest things I fear is letting down my people. I wouldn't live with that type of conscience, of having let down my people after they've been brutalized for so long.
I wanted to be a doctor at some point, and I was always bringing home strays from school: people who were too poor to pay fees or have food. My parents never rebuked me or told me that they were hard-pressed, too.
We shall liberate our country.
I learned to deal with the police... to be tough... to survive.
I am not sorry. I will never be sorry. I would do everything I did again if I had to. Everything.
To lose your everyday life of surfing and being creative on waves, enjoying the ocean - that's scary to me. It was essential to at least try surfing again and get out there and see how it went.
I didn't want to be discriminated against because of my gender and status. I promised myself I was never going to be treated as a second-class citizen.
So it was that the war in the air began. Men rode upon the whirlwind that night and slew and fell like archangels. The sky rained heroes upon the astonished earth. Surely the last fights of mankind were the best. What was the heavy pounding of your Homeric swordsmen, what was the creaking charge of chariots, besides this swift rush, this crash, this giddy triumph, this headlong sweep to death?
I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I aim with my eye. I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father. I shoot with my mind. I do not kill with my gun; he who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart.
My resolution, standing with the vast majority of Americans who know we can and must be safer, is to cede no ground to those who would convince us the path is too steep, or we too weak.
I ran away from St. Louis, and then I ran away from the United States, because of that terror of discrimination.
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