And each of these leaders had a deep spiritual reservoir to draw from. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison. He came out, he was elected President of South Africa, and, in an incredible act of forgiveness, he invited his jailers to share the Presidential inauguration platform with him. It is obvious that I find leaders to be, at their core, optimistic. I couldn t think of a single pessimist, a single cynic, whom I consider to be a leader.
Leaders believe that a better society is possible.
And they give their lives over to creating it. Maya Angelou captured this optimistic spirit in the poem I read from earlier. Here, on the pulse of this fine day You may have the courage To look up and out and upon me, the Rock, the River, the Tree, your country. No less to Midas than the mendicant. No less to you now than the mastodon then.