In The Name Of... (For Nelson Mandela)

For those of you who read history  
this may be a bit of a bore  
but I feel compelled to point to a few things  
that some would like to ignore  
 
We lost a giant not long ago  
Mandela was his name  
everyone acting as if they loved the man  
have to wonder what is their game  
 
For if he was so adored why was he on a US terrorist  
watch list up until the year of 2008  
don't tell me Kissinger, Reagan and Regan thought highly of him  
oh no they could have cared less about his fate  
 
Kissinger repeatedly called him a "Communist"  
Reagan embraced "collective engagement" while Biko died  
Regan said American women "loved their diamonds too much"  
a boycott they never would try  
 
In fact Congress overruled Reagan's veto  
Republicans of conscience objected to Ronnie's view  
sent a message about American investments  
that were propping up only a chosen few  
 
Or how about artist like  
Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and Tina Turner indeed  
showed that when money was the issue  
any color can give into the greed  
 
And yet when artist like Stevie Wonder, Hall and Oates, and U2  
were asked if in Sun City would they play  
they rejected lavish offers of bucket loads  
Apartheid Sun City they would play no way  
 
Remember too that the ANC was not purely non violent  
in fact Mandela's ex-wife even blasted his moves  
in time Nelson saw one way to promote peace  
for in the end we all must pay some form of dues  
 
Both Qaddafi and Castro had ties to him  
lord knows neither of them were exactly saints  
which earned him the scorn of many critics  
a broad brush did they try to paint  
 
Yet his most outstanding feature  
was being able to get over wrongs done  
for he had his eyes fixed on a longer lasting prize  
when human rights would finally be won  
 
Please don't make him a perfect figure  
who was immune to doing wrong  
for even his presidency was slow to the AIDS crisis  
while so many affected could no longer be strong  
 
Even now there are inequalities  
like the distribution of land  
that may be beyond what one man in office can do  
with a simple lift of his hand  
 
Now how can we apply this to our own lives  
how many times do you get out of sorts  
when the mail is late or a server got your order wrong  
you want to sue and come up with all the torts  
 
To Nelson I say a toast to a wonderful human  
even praised the auto union of America when he got out  
in time indefinite your name will be remembered  
while Justin Bieber's and the Kardashian name makes people pout