By. Scot Kersgaard

Nelson Mandela came out of nowhere to change the world. He refused to accept the fact of apartheid and spent more than a fourth of his 95 years in prison.

Whatever challenges I face in my life pale in comparison.

I won’t say the United States has no political prisoners. You could argue the point based solely on the over representation of young men of color in our prison system.  You could argue that point loudly, you could go on CNN and argue the point. You could argue it in the New York Times, as many have, and you would not be jailed. You could run for office on a platform of criminal justice reform. You might win and you might lose. You might have an effect on the problem or you might not. You might look me in the eye and argue that more young black and Hispanic men are in prison because they commit more crimes, and you also would not be arrested for your public proclamations.

You could argue that the inequality of schools between white neighborhoods and black neighborhoods, between rich zip codes and poor is a form of apartheid. You might be scolded for your cheapening of the word “apartheid”, you might be told people are free to move to a different school district, but you would not be jailed.

In this country, we can change the world without fear of going to jail. We can speak out against injustice, or our personal view of injustice, without fear.

We can run for school boards and state legislatures on platforms of hope or platforms of fear.

We can form nonprofits or social enterprises to further our agendas, we can volunteer for any of a thousand causes. We can work hard to affect change. We won’t go to jail and we won’t be beaten to within an inch of our lives.

Nelson Mandela died a free man, but that freedom came at great cost. What will we do with our freedom?