South+Africa+-+Politics+and+Sports+in+General,+Rugby+in+Particular


 * Because of South Africa's despicable racist apartheid system in the decades before the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994, sports and politics became inseparable in South Africa. The international community used sports, among other areas, to exert pressure on the South African government to end its racists policies, even going so far as to impose long, strict boycotts against South Africa's teams and athletes. Moreover, the performance of the South African national rugby team in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, held on South African soil just a year after the end of apartheid, the election of Mandela, and the takeover of the government by the black majority, played an enormous role in preventing this newly democratic country from plunging into a bloody civil war.**


 * We have the good fortune to have a guest on campus, Father Michael Lapsley, who was a courageous anti-apartheid activist in South Africa and lived through all of this. He will be a guest in our class 10/19 for period 1 and 10/20 for period 2 to enlighten us on these subjects based on his firsthand experience. **


 * To prepare for Father Lapsley's visit, we will watch a short video on him, read a couple of articles on South African sports, read Nelson Mandela's favorite poem, and watch the entire ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on the 1995 South African rugby team's victory in the Rugby World Cup called //The 16th Man//. There is also a very short video on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, an amazing approach to conflict resolution that has since been copied by other groups in other situations; Father Lapsley had some involvement with that also.**


 * THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF OUR SEEKING THE THIRD MAJOR CONDITION FOR MOTIVATION THAT LEADS TO FLOW: __PURPOSE__ . SPORTS CAN PLAY A MUCH BIGGER ROLE THAN WE USUALLY EXPECT AS A WAY TO IMPROVE LIFE FOR PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD. Also, when a chance to bring special guests into class who can broaden and deepen our horizons comes up unexpectedly, we need to be perceptive enough and flexible enough to take advantage of the opportunity. **

[|The Father Michael Lapsley Story]
 * Here is the link to the short video:**

[|Long Run to Freedom]
 * Here is the article on sports and politics in South Africa:**

[|Playing the Enemy]
 * Here is the other article, this one an excerpt from an outstanding book on the dramatic 1995 Rugby World Cup victory by South Africa. The book is called //Playing the Enemy//, by John Carlin. It is the book on which the recent Matt Damon/Morgan Freeman movie //Invictus// was based.**

[|The Truth and Reconciliation Commission - What You Need to Know]
 * Here is the 2- minute, 19-second video on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission:**


 * The Hollywood movie version of //Playing the Enemy// is called Invictus, the title of which comes from Nelson Mandela's favorite poem . Mandela loved the poem " Invictus ," a poem that helped sustain him during his long imprisonment. The poem was written in 1875 (but first published in 1888) by English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). **
 * Here it is (it's rather famous):**

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.