In history there is the truth and then there is the story. And rarely are they the same thing. But does the truth really matter? Does it matter than this man or that man was fallible? That he made loads of mistakes and was always scared. Or that he went to his grave pissing and shitting himself, his mind gone, his body broken. No, it doesn’t matter an inch. Because the story is where the power lies, where the inspiration comes from.
The story of Nelson Mandela will always be far more powerful than the truth of Nelson Mandela. Of course, like Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, we can poke holes in it. We can find mistakes. We can find human error, selfishness and idiocy. But to do so is to miss the point. In 50 years’ time, when he is gone and many of us are gone, and a kid is wearing a T-shirt with Madiba’s face on it, it will no longer matter. All these spats about whether he did this or that, let this person down or that person down will count for nought. What will matter is the inspiration he gives to that kid. The lessons he teaches future generations. The same as Che. He could have been a prick for all I know but he teaches me that a man with a vision and a couple of friends can achieve a world of change. Done. End of the story.
It is a real post-modern trend to re-examine historical figures and say; ooh, look he was a just person, he made mistakes or was horrible to his wife or nasty to his subordinates or whatever. But so what? I don’t care if Captain Cook went to sea because he didn’t like his missus or Thomas Becket stuttered or that Alexander the Great was gay. They were human, big deal, that is NOT a particularly big insight. All I want is their story. I want the moral of it and how that will improve my life. The rest of it, the so-called truth is the same as every human’s story. They came into this world insecure, slightly bent, slightly twisted, a bit shit at some things and better at other things.
Some will argue that by reducing our heroes to mere mortals we are somehow making them greater men. That by reminding ourselves they are human they will become better heroes. But the problem is that when we set out to make them human, we do just that. We remove the magic. We take away all the shine and make them just another schmo stumbling through the dark. Well I, for one, don’t want Nelson Mandela the man. I want Madiba the story.
Well put David! Throughout history the heros were ALWAYS hated and called various names like rebels, terrorists, lunatics… because these heros were always people with INTEGRITY who cared for others and spoke for the voiceless. Winnie Mandela also has a right to speak her mind, since she bore the brunt of apartheids evilness and brutality differently from Mandela. We should not regard Mandela as a deity but as a hero who had to compromise to achieve our freedom without bloodshed, similar to Gandhi.
Are revisions of history post-modern? I don’t see how.
How short-sighted. Only by finding where the most famous of our kind went wrong can we correct our current problems. If Mandela made a serious mistake, we need to backpedal to that point and attempt to correct it. Doing so won’t change the truth of his accomplishments.
A truly great person would be prepared to admit that they were incapable of always being right. At the same time they need to leave room for their heirs to correct their faults.
Legends of pure, incorruptible character seem attract the very worst of mankind.
Incidentally, the biggest thing dear old Che has inspired is the astonishingly ignorant sale of his hunky profile.
Great article!
Again, nicely put, DJS. A good dose of realism in our world. Stephen Browne, you miss the point – completely. It is not the person, it is the message that gets carried out. Madiba brings hope. That is why people will be wearing his image on T-Shirts 50 and 100 years (and perhaps even thousands of years) from now. It is the message, not the person, that inspires.
Bless. Wipes tear. That was b-e-a-yoooudiful. I’m not being sarcastic.
“He could have been a prick for all I know but he teaches me that a man with a vision and a couple of friends can achieve a world of change. Done. End of the story.” Only when the vision gets fuddled or hijacked by greed, you’re left with a prick.
The problem, Mr. Smith, is that the story happens to comfort and console you and so you appreciate it.
But it is a lie put there to fool you into supporting people and policies which are against your interests.
Maybe you should pay more attention to reality and less to spin-doctors.
We can but hope that the children wearing the T-shirt better understand the icon than those who sport(ed) Chez Guevara.
@The Creator. Well said. Only an unread fool can be so blinded by untruth that satisfies the soul. The problem is that these same will tell you that they hold dear the Madiba / nelson Mandela myth.
That we should over look the shortcoming.
However when it comes to SA history they remember all 300 mythological years of short coming in detail and forgive nothing.
Its easy for D Smith to make these statements since he is not the one suffering as a result of the mistakes made.
@Leon: How is this for a ‘message’: Even great people make mistakes, so don’t be afraid to step up and admit them. In fact, EVERYTHING you do becomes part of your message, not just the bits you like – ask any parent.
How misplaced is a ‘message’ which tells us that its possible to cr*p gold and piss Johnny Walker Black.
Personally I have more respect for historical figures who could see their own flaws and weren’t afraid to point them out to others.
In Smith’s words: “All I want is their story. I want the moral of it and how that will improve my life.” Really? You only want their side of the story? I begin to see why history moves in such tedious circles …
So no, I don’t think I’ve missed the point.