With the election battle heating up, the worst side of politics comes out. Electioneering sometimes feels like the marketing of premium credit cards, when we're promised deals that are too good to be true. In a bid to divert attention from a good policy, one side will resort to mud-slinging in order to commandeer the news cycle. Children and cute animals are used as political props in a photographic popularity contest. Character assassination, smear campaigns and scaremongering have all featured in the campaign so far and it looks like things are going to get more fraught as we come into the final stage of the race. Some say that this is just the way politics has to be, but this might be exactly the approach to politics that has lead to so many following Russell Brand's advice and not bothering to vote at all.
So perhaps now is a good time to be reminded of a better way of doing politics – and the wit and wisdom of Nelson Mandela is a great place to start. I invite you to bring his voice into the political debate, by grabbing one of the quotes below and injecting it into your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram feed. You might want to address them directly to your local MP or even to the party leaders. You might wonder why I'm not encouraging you to tweet a Bible verse, and there are definitely times that can be helpful. But by choosing to quote Mandela we can appeal to a wider audience as we seek to make the political space a better place for everyone.
In the following quotations Mandela, whose relationship with Christianity you can read about here, demonstrates how biblical values impact public life. Because of his incredible work in ending Apartheid in South Africa, having spent 27 years in prison – including 18 under the grueling conditions of the labour camp on Robben Island –Mandela offers an almost unassailable moral authority. He is respected by politicians across the political spectrum and so maybe his words could inspire some of our electoral candidates to change the way they operate over the next few weeks. Perhaps together we can encourage our politicians to raise their game and #raisethetone of this election
On sacrifice: "Real leaders must be willing to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people."
On political debate: "A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed."
On the state of a nation: "It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones."
On a life well lived: "What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead."
On the impossible: "It always seems impossible until it's done."
On aspiration: "There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
On empowering others: "As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."
On hope: "May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears."
On political success: "Success in politics demands that you must take your people into confidence about your views and state them very clearly, very politely, very calmly, but nevertheless, state them openly."
On spirituality: "Honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, pure generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve others – qualities which are within easy reach of every soul – are the foundation of one's spiritual life."
