Heroes of Culture

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States, a holiday that celebrates the life and message of a man who changed America by leading a nonviolent civil rights movement whose consequences reverberate around the country – and the world – to this day. As Simply CSOFT’s own way of honoring this transformational hero, we’d like to profile a few other Heroes of Culture who have helped shape their own countries for the better.

Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, famously known as Mahatma Gandhi, was born in western India and trained as a lawyer in London, but his contributions to the world had little to do with civil or criminal law; he advocated and practiced moral law. Gandhi was the ultimate believer in nonviolence, first in South Africa where he fought for Indian’s civil rights and then in India where he employed a tactic known as civil disobedience to protest British rule, finally resulting in the country’s independence. He always implored followers to take the path of nonviolence, even going so far as to fast for long periods as an alternative form of protest.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Gandhi

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

Born in South Africa in 1918, Nelson Mandela spent his life fighting against institutionalized racism in South Africa where apartheid legislation, passed in 1948, had codified and expanded segregation. Mandela led the African National Congress (ANC) in protest against the legislation but was jailed on charges of inciting workers’ strikes and leaving the country without permission.  He was later charged and found guilty of sabotage and conspiracy to violently overthrow the government. He was sentenced to life in prison but, even from behind bars, he corresponded with anti-apartheid activists until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and his release from prison in 1990. He spent 27 years in prison and four years later welcomed the first general election in South Africa in which he won the presidency and oversaw the dismantling of the racist institutions of apartheid.

“Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will.” – Mandela

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was an American steel magnate in the 19^th century – a so-called “robber baron.” His business practices were sometimes dubious and he had bad record regarding labor relations, but his philanthropic works had a truly profound effect on both culture and society. Carnegie drove the call for spelling reform (making English easier to learn, read, and write), established 3,000 libraries across the English-speaking world, funded universities and scholarship programs, and – perhaps most notably – founded the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a worldwide think-tank committed to a more peaceful world. Though he earned his fair share of enmity in his day, Andrew Carnegie’s article, “The Gospel of Wealth,” has arguably inspired more powerful charitable efforts than any other piece of writing.

“Do your duty and a little more and the future will take care of itself” – Carnegie

There are so many people who have devoted all their efforts to making our world a more tolerant, educated, and freer place to live, but sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of them amid all the negative headlines. This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we at Simply CSOFT encourage all our readers to remember those who strive to make a difference, and hope you can find the courage to do the same.

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