No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
- NELSON MANDELA, Autobiography
“I’ll never apologize for the United States of America. Ever. I don’t care what the facts are.”
- George H.W. Bush in 1988, after the United States shot down Flight 655, an Iranian passenger airliner, over the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 civilians aboard.
Both men were recently sidelined with serious health problems, George Bush Sr. still in hospital.
Both Mandela and Bush are of advanced years; when their time comes, who will the world mourn, the man who showed the world the power of forgiveness and reconciliation, or the unrepentant and hubristic warrior?
