Quote Originally Posted by HoreTore View Post
Mandela is one of the few, along with leaders such as Vaclav Havel, who, when given power in a revolution chose not to persecute the old regime, but instead seek reconciliation. In my opinion, that is a massive contribution to world history, and I hope we will see more of it. In addition to that, Mandela didn't offer just silence on the crimes of the old regime, like the Spanish did, but he instead sought the truth without punishment.
Absolutely. Whatever condemnations may be laid at Mandela's feet, it is impossible not to count this to his credit. History is NOT replete with other such examples.

I have long been awed by the efforts of the USA's founding fathers, but must acknowledge that our treatment of the Loyalists in the USA following the Revolution was far harsher (no death marches or ethnic cleansing but pretty vicious and confiscatory) than the treatment of the Afrikaaners by the ANC under Mandela. After our own civil war, somebody murdered the one leader who really wanted to be conciliatory, so we ended up with the Reconstruction. Again, not a series of pogroms, but pretty harsh and mean. All in all, the ANC under Mandela did something pretty special.

My concerns regarding S.A. now center on what the ANC will do without their living legend and moral compass. Will they continue the path he blazed, lapse into just another kleptocracy as have so many African states, or will his absence allow those with violent grudges to wallow in gore. I am hopeful, but concerned.