Dickinson to Durban » Summer Reading Responses
Mandela’s Political Philosophy Develops
How did Mandela’s childhood and education impact his political philosophy? Mandela had a traditional Xhosa tribe upbringing in the context of his culture, but also found himself in many traditionally British education systems and with various non-Xhosa tribal members acting as guardian figures as he grew up. These diametrically opposed forms of education and upbringing helped Mandela to form the ideas he had about freedom, religion, fairness, and politics, he carried and upheld for the rest of his life. While reading Mandela’s own writing, I found his various personal traits and virtues to be a product of his tribes’ deep belief in these very same virtues. For example, Mandela describes various meetings with tribal leaders through his involvement with the ANC court hearings, which through vivid descriptions paint him as a humble … Read entire article »
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What makes a freedom fighter?
(In response to the prompt ” How did Nelson Mandela’s Childhood and education impact his political philosophy?”) Nelson Mandela was not always the man we know him to be today. Not every human is destined to become their country’s first African attorney, be imprisoned for 27 years, and later become the winner of a Nobel Peace Prize. Yet, however extraordinary the events of Nelson Mandela’s life were to become, they began in much the same way as many other poverty-stricken Africans of his generation. He, his mother, and siblings lived in small mud-walled huts without any of the modern amenities available at that time. Mandela spent his early years enjoying the simple games of stick fighting and meals of samp (corn porridge) and beans, while leaning to look after sheep and … Read entire article »
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