by Paul Eliefrom Georgetown University
Humility and Simplicity, for Starters
In his forthcoming memoir Tim Shriver tells the story of how Nelson Mandela — at the height of his world fame and influence — made common cause with the Special Olympics movement, recognizing that the enforced “apartness” of people with intellectual disabilities was akin to apartheid.
The other day Tim told the story in brief on the Special Olympics website, and in a rhetorically apt touch he addressed the story not to the press or the general public but to Special Olympics athletes — whose story it is:
Beginning in 2001, Nelson Mandela became an outspoken champion of the Special Olympics movement and of your cause, athletes. He came to Robben Island for Special Olympics and lit our torch, the Flame of Hope, with Ricardo Thornton who, like him, had been imprisoned unjustly — in an institution in the United States. He traveled to Dublin to celebrate the Special Olympics World Games, where he was introduced by Bono and U2 as “The President of everyone who loves and fights for freedom.” He cheered you, athletes, and talked to our youth leaders and said, “You, the athletes, are ambassadors of the greatness of humankind. Your achievements remind us of the potential to greatness that resides in every one of us.” When he celebrated his birthday in 2004, he dedicated the entire day to Special Olympics athletes who came by the thousands to Polokwane where he blew out candles on a huge cake and cheered for the athletes saying, “Amandla Awethu” which means “power to the people,” a phrased used in rallies across South Africa against the apartheid regime.
What, Tim asked Mandela, was the secret of his leadership?
“In prison, I learned humility and simplicity,” Mandela explained, and went on:
That’s what the athletes of Special Olympics are teaching the world, Tim. Humility and Simplicity. These are the gifts that are most important if we are to achieve a more inclusive world.”
The conventional wisdom is that globalization is making the world smaller — but people like Nelson Mandela and movements like the Special Olympics are making the world larger: more inclusive, more personal, more open, more attuned to affairs of the heart.
