[Vision2020] Mandela vs. Gandhi and King: How Does He Compare?

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Nick
Thanks for the article. You are right in that I  if Gandhi had tried that in Nazi Germany, he would have been squashed like a bug. He had the good fortune of dealing with England.
 
Roger


-----Original Message-----
From: "Nicholas Gier" <ngier006 at gmail.com>
To: vision2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Date: 01/20/14 22:11
Subject: [Vision2020] Mandela vs. Gandhi and King: How Does He Compare?

Happy MLK Day Visionaries,

I've been so busy proofing my book MS. that I almost forgot to post this year's MLK column.  Murf at the DNews usually e-mails me about their editorial decisions, so I will surprised to see this piece in the paper this morning.


Congrats to MLK Breakfast winners, and thanks to Tom we have a well documented record of the event.


The long version is attached.


Nick



Mandela vs. Gandhi and King: How Does He Compare?
By Nick Gier
Those who say that Nelson Mandela should not stand next to Mahamta Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. would point to the fact that Mandela eventually chose violence over non-violence. Recognizing the truth of the African proverb-"attacks of the wild beast cannot be averted with only bare hands"- Mandela reluctantly came to the realization that the African National Congress needed a military wing.
Contrary to wide-spread opinion, Gandhi did not believe that the principle of non-violence was absolute.  In fact, he stated quite clearly that if given a choice between cowardice and responding with violence, one should definitely choose the latter. 
Gandhi's acts of civil disobedience were clearly acts of courage not cowardice.  Indeed, by immediately pleading guilty and joyfully accepting imprisonment, Gandhi was able to achieve moral and spiritual victories over the British time and time again.
Gandhi recommended that Germany's Jews should have openly protested, just as he and his disciples had done in India. He should have realized that the Nazis were not like the British, and that this was not a situation where active non-violent resistance was going to work. 
Mandela's enemy was more determined and ruthless than the British with whom Gandhi negotiated.  Large numbers of white South Africans supported Hitler and his policies regarding inferior races. Knowing his enemy well, Mandela refused to be a coward and he was determined to stop the South African government's oppression of his people.
Gandhi's moral failings came from his insistence that the only way he could prove his vow of chastity was to sleep with naked women of his choosing.  When his disciples objected, he told them that he would sleep with thousands of women if his vow of chastity required it. King was, on many occasions, unfaithful to his wife, but unlike Gandhi, King confessed his sins and sought repentance.
We still condemn Richard Nixon for his arrogance and abuse of power.  We should do the same for Gandhi's refusal to see how manipulative he was in his notorious celibacy tests.
            The first years of Mandela's 13-year marriage to Evelyn Mase were harmonious and he doted on his four children.  Increasingly, however, he spent more and more time with members of the African National Congress, and his marriage was strained beyond repair. Mandela was a charismatic figure who drew people to him, including many women willing to make love to him. 
Mandel's 28 years in prison were a transformative period for him, and his final years were ones that have assured him a place alongside Gandhi and King. His political accomplishments were mixed.  He was unable to make good on the many promises he made for millions of poor and illiterate South Africans.
            Mandela's charismatic leadership, however, brought South Africa together in ways that arguably exceeded Gandhi in India and King in America.  At the 1995 World Cup Rugby match-the first time that the South African team had played internationally in years-President Mandela appeared wearing a Springbok jersey. The capacity crowd, mostly white South Africans, repeatedly chanted "Nelson! Nelson! Nelson!"
In 1996 Mandela initiated one of his greatest civil rights, and I would argue, spiritual achievements.  He appointed Bishop Desmond Tutu to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, one of the most successful experiments in overcoming national wounds ever attempted.
As a student of Christian theology, I can say with confidence that this commission-led by black and white religious leaders, attorneys, and civil rights leaders-embodied Jesus' ethics compassion and forgiveness more than any other religious institution in human history. 
I agree with Marcus Eliason of the Associated Press that Mandela, and I would add Tutu, were "masters of forgiveness," and as such they have earned their place among the saints.
            Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years.  
 
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