FROM THE EDITORS March 8, 2010 Issue

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES

INVICTUS, THE NEWEST FILM directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, reveals a deeply moving portrait of Nelson Mandela. As you watch this film, you can't help but be reminded of what we can so easily forget about the true noble nature inherent in humanity. As the story unfolds on screen, you see the fearless, unruffled composure that animated this remarkable man's actions. And as you think about the challenges in your own life, you might ask yourself, WWNMD (What Would Nelson Mandela Do)?

Mandela radiated the light of love. Despite the cruel oppression that he endured through decades of apartheid in South Africa, he loved his enemies.

One especially inspring scene in the film shows the courage and grace Mandela summoned when put to the test—the courage and grace natural to each of us as the expression of the divine Principle, Love. After his stunning election as president of South Africa in 1994 (after 27 years in jail for being an anti-apartheid activist), he faced an enormous challenge: how to unify a country more bitterly split than ever between blacks and whites. And one of Mandela's trusted bodyguards, Jason, asks for more bodyguards to ensure the new president's safety. So Mandela gives him four—the same white bodyguards who had guarded his white predecessor. "Reconciliation starts here," Mandela says. Jason feels flummoxed, betrayed: "Not long ago they tried to kill us!" But Mandela looks at Jason with wisdom and compassion. He says gently: "Forgiveness starts here, too. ... Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it's such a powerful weapon, Jason."

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