We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
No one is born hating another person because of the color 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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Hatred is learned, while love comes naturally to humans.
In this quote, Nelson Mandela emphasizes that hate is not an inherent trait but rather something that individuals learn through their experiences and environment. He conveys the idea that if people are capable of learning to hate, they also possess the potential to learn to love, suggesting that love is a more fundamental part of human nature than hatred.
Themes
HateLoveHuman NatureLearnAcceptance
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for social justice.
More from Nelson Mandela
All quotes →What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
Nelson MandelaRead
The past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future, but it does not dictate our choices. We should look back at the past and select what is good, and leave behind what is bad.
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We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people.
Nelson MandelaRead
After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one's person.
Nelson MandelaRead
I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
Nelson MandelaRead
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