The Arena

One of the speeches that has inspired me over the years is Theodore Roosevelt’s “The Man in the Arena” speech from 1910. Here’s the most famous passage from that speech:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” (Source)

Set aside the gender excluding language that was common in 1910, and you have a speech that I think speaks to this time and place in a few ways. And a speech that needs some serious revision. For one, it addresses the need to act and speak up, regardless of the cost. Those that value their own comfort over speaking up and competing in the arena of the world don’t receive much respect from Roosevelt. Silence might save you for a short time, but eventually it’s quite costly.

Second, Roosevelt acknowledges a difficult reality for most people to embrace – that you might not pull off what you hope to achieve. In fact, you might fail miserably. And what Roosevelt is saying is that it’s not the ends that matter, but rather the means – how we live. It’s about living fully into who you are and who you were made to be. It’s about leaving nothing on the table. It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about doing the best you can with what you have. It’s about being a good steward of what you were given.

One of the other reasons I love this quote from this speech is because it directly conflicts with authoritarian ideas and beliefs. All authoritarianism is based on the ends justify the means. Authoritarianism comes in many forms and has had many labels over the years. They come and they go. And they leave a trail of destruction and ruined lives in their wake. Always. Authoritarianism never lives up to its promises of an orderly world. Why would it? Authoritarianism is about using people to achieve a specific ends.

But no worries, there’s plenty of excuses to go around from those supportive of authoritarians and their actions. There’s always excuses. That’s the part that bothers me the most. The excuses. There’s excuses for all the actions. An explanation for it all. Never a mistake. Never a bad decision. Never a consequence. Never a need to apologize. Never a reason to be held accountable. Why should there be when the ends justify the means after all? Always perfection. Always doubling down. Always being the victim when needed. Always being the victor when needed. A perpetual excuse. It’s pathetic.

The core of authoritarianism is that winning is most important.

If winning is most important, that means that everything has to be a competition and requires only two sides to play the game – the good guys and the bad guys. You can’t win if the other side doesn’t play. Where’s the fun in that?

And if everything is a competition, then you usually have to manufacture competitions – create fake drama, sow discord, scapegoat, make up things, lie, etc.

If the bad guys won’t play, then you have to find someone else to be the bad guys. Or you turn inward on yourself and those that were on your side become enemies. You come up with excuses (because that’s what you are good at) – they weren’t loyal enough, or they turned on us, or something else, it really doesn’t matter. You need a bad guy after all. Someone to defeat. And anyone will do. When the ends justify the means, then everyone is disposable. Even your closest allies. You just have to stay in front of this so that you don’t turn into a bad guy. For some reason, these people think they aren’t disposable themselves. But they are too.

Winning is most important is just another way of saying that the ends justify the means.

Stop playing their games and by their rules. Don’t participate. Do what you are going to do, and give it your all. Take Roosevelt’s advice. It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about giving it your best effort. It’s about leaving it all on the table. It’s about living into who you were meant to be. It’s about being true to yourself.

Comfort isn’t going to provide that. Comfort only gives you a false sense of security. Comfort lies to you and tells you that you are exempt from effort, pain, suffering, and more. No one promised that.

Don’t play. Playing by their rules will only frustrate you because the game is rigged for you to lose. They are so concerned with winning, that they stack the game in their favor. It shows how little confidence they have in their abilities, arguments, beliefs, etc. And when those fail, name calling and violence are also an option. Remember that for them, the ends justify the means, and the end is winning. So they will do what you have to do in order to win. No matter the wreckage. No matter the cost. No matter who is hurt or worse. They don’t value institutions, the truth, or anything related to civilization for that matter. Winning is the only thing that matters to them. Everything else is just a means to that.

Don’t participate as much as you can. Don’t watch them. Don’t listen to their statements. You have the right to remain silent. You don’t have to acknowledge them. Don’t go to their events. Become boring and dull when you are will them. And do what you are set out to do. And don’t do it alone. You are never alone. This is a time to offer encouragement to one another. Have a vision that moves people towards thriving – and work towards that with those that understand that the means are as important as the ends. And keep plugging away at that.

That’s the part of Roosevelt’s speech that is lacking. Roosevelt was a rugged individualist, so it’s no wonder. Rugged individualism is a lie, just like winning is most important. Both are selfish, just in different ways.

If I could change anything about Roosevelt’s quote, it would be this. That you are not alone in the arena. You can’t do it all in the arena. You need other people. And they need you. Together, you can strive and err, you can know the joys of victory and the agonies of defeat. You can be fully who you are when you are with others who are vulnerable with each other and who care about each other. It’s only then that we become fully who we are. And that we can give it our all.