A Life Poem by jim hogg

I was 13 years old in 1968 and sometimes thought that my life was a bit unfair - raised in a poor family, though in an idyllic rural setting - but out in the real world things were a little more trying for many millions and for those who stood up for them... King was murdered in April, Bobby Kennedy was murdered in June, and Mandela was lying in jail for his courage, probably very lucky to be alive, and locked up for life. One or two of the broadsheets (notably the Observer) covered Mandela's predicament over the years and there was a lot of sympathy in the uk (on the left primarily) , but he was never on the front page in the late 60s so far as I can recall, though I remember quite a few arguments at home over the rights and wrongs of the situation when relations with S African connections visited - my father was immovable on equal rights for all and dreamed of a more egalitarian world. However, it wasn't until the mid 80s that Mandela started to become a household name, though of course there were many on the right who were very sympathetic to the apartheid regime - Teddy Taylor, a Scottish Tory in a senior government position opined that Mandela should be shot, and many business lobbyists were against sanctions because of the threat to their ideology and their bank balances; Margaret Thatcher's husband had investments in S Africa; but the tide was turning... popular culture was driving increasing support and the situation in South Africa grew ever more conspicuously dire for the majority and therefore less acceptable to politicians worldwide who had to face the democratic process...

Mandela said he was willing to die for his ideals... and his life is evidence that he meant it... How many of us have that kind of courage! King must have been aware that he was putting his life on the line too... Their cause was great, their motivation huge, but still.. how rare ... how astonishingly rare that kind of courage is these days... or in any age...