Benet Kinghorn History 5/3/2010
It is 1995 and a young South African boy is in the stands of one of the most surprising victories in rugby history. The South African Springboks, a mediocre team, has just beat the New Zealand All Blacks by a half field kick in overtime. He sees the 60,000 people around jumping for joy. It did not matter if their skin was black, white, or green. They all celebrated a great victory for the country and its people. This is one of those special moments sports can be about. Whether it be a Tommy Frasier led team winning a National title for Nebraska or a mediocre rugby team a half a world away in South Africa, these games mean something beyond the final score. Even if you hated the Huskers or you didn't think that someone needs to be killed because he is Black. Sports can bring us all together.
I have never had to witness the horrible things that happened because of racism. Whether it be slavery, segregation such as drinking out of different water areas, or having to be a certain color to play a sport. I am so happy that for the most part we get along. However there is evidence of people being treated differently still today. Most of the high technology jobs are filled by white people. Now having a black president progress has been made, but racism is still out there. Whites still make more money most of the time. In Invictus I read and visualized what it would be like to live in a country where you can't be friends with a person of a different race. Mandela brought a new light what it means to get along with someone of a different race.
South Africa today seems like a great country to live in. A lot better than it was 20 years ago. My parents had some people from South Africa on work visas here working for our family business. They were awesome. I remember them always watching rugby, cricket, or even soccer. I would have never known that someone could dislike people like them. But obviously it is possible. In Invictus I learned that people can be weird about judging something as small as the next guys skin color. It is not a true measurement of the person. I am thankful for what Mandela did for his fellow citizens and for setting an example for the rest of the world.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Nelson Mandela and Invitcus 3
Benet Kinghorn History. 5/3/2010
"It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." Invictus a poem writing in 1875 by an English poet named William Ernest Henley. This is how the book I read started, with this poem which taught me to believe in another way to live life.
"Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul." Invictus. This causes me to think about when Mandela was stuck in a dark prison cell. He looked from prison bar to prison bar, wondering what will happen to him next. Who wants his unconquerable soul? Mandela did not let this get him down. He kept being the righteous "captain of his own soul." This brings him out of the darkness into a world of light. This being a new start for him. He became one great South African President.
"In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed." Invictus. Mandela, the great man he is, did not complain of the circumstance around him. Instead he took them head on. The circumstance of a racial divide between blacks and whites called Apartheid. Mandela came out of this racism torn apart, but he was not destroyed by it. Knowing what this does to a country he brought that train of thought with him as president.
"Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid." Invictus. In this place of racial distress it is not time to be afraid but a time to become a savior. Mandela was not the first but he was a significant man of keeping Apartheid from every happen again.
"I am the captain of my soul". Mandela through all he experienced, kept himself strong by being a good "Captain of his Soul." This poem inspired Mandela when in prison and it did the same for me but in a different way. No one else can be the captain of my soul but myself. No matter what circumstances may come my way, I am the only one who can steer my soul through the experiences I have in my life.
"It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." Invictus a poem writing in 1875 by an English poet named William Ernest Henley. This is how the book I read started, with this poem which taught me to believe in another way to live life.
"Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul." Invictus. This causes me to think about when Mandela was stuck in a dark prison cell. He looked from prison bar to prison bar, wondering what will happen to him next. Who wants his unconquerable soul? Mandela did not let this get him down. He kept being the righteous "captain of his own soul." This brings him out of the darkness into a world of light. This being a new start for him. He became one great South African President.
"In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed." Invictus. Mandela, the great man he is, did not complain of the circumstance around him. Instead he took them head on. The circumstance of a racial divide between blacks and whites called Apartheid. Mandela came out of this racism torn apart, but he was not destroyed by it. Knowing what this does to a country he brought that train of thought with him as president.
"Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid." Invictus. In this place of racial distress it is not time to be afraid but a time to become a savior. Mandela was not the first but he was a significant man of keeping Apartheid from every happen again.
"I am the captain of my soul". Mandela through all he experienced, kept himself strong by being a good "Captain of his Soul." This poem inspired Mandela when in prison and it did the same for me but in a different way. No one else can be the captain of my soul but myself. No matter what circumstances may come my way, I am the only one who can steer my soul through the experiences I have in my life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)