Perpetuating hatred - Breaking the cycle of destruction

Very few of us have the magnanimity, the selflessness or humanity needed to break the cycle of hatred and bias perpetuated by tribal, racial or religious legacies.

Fewer still have the vision and fortitude to dedicate their lives to breaking that destructive cycle and freeing divided societies from the self-perpetuating burden of their own intolerance.

One of the greatest modern examples of that exceptionalism — Nelson Mandela — is approaching the end of his long, fruitful life but his great achievement, the relatively peaceful ending of apartheid in South Africa, will live on. We celebrate him far more readily than we try to emulate his behaviour and make his message of tolerance real.