Europeian of the Year: Calvin Coolidge

Seva

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“Any reward that is worth having only comes to the industrious. The success which is made in any walk of life is measured almost exactly by the amount of hard work that is put into it.” - the real-life Calvin Coolidge

Before deciding which person is the most exemplary Europeian of any given year, we should first establish what it means to be Europeian at all. Is it posting tens of thousands of messages in Discord? Is it arguing in walls of text about the most intricate parts of our laws? Or is it maybe introducing ideas so controversial that the rest of the region would be prepared to strip you of your citizenship if they had the power to? What about writing an article that would inflame the hearts of everyone who has read it and spark a months-long debate? Who would disagree that being the most consistent and prolific recruiter is the highest height a Europeian can achieve? Calvin Coolidge can do it all at the same time, but the most fascinating part is that his achievements and ideas are not the only things that make him the Europeian of 2020. It is also his spirit, it is his passion for the region. In the troubled year that was 2020 he was one of the people who kept going all the time, who continued inspiring us and making us laugh, who used his magic on pretty much everything he touched - but let us better look at the facts that tell much more than my sentiments.

Calvin Coolidge started 2020 in the role of First Minister. I was not around back then but at this point even I remember his Executive Order 97 as if I were present that day. Some might say, “but it was repealed, it sparked controversy, it was ultimately useless at best, or even harmful, it wasted people’s time!” Such an assessment I would completely disagree with, and here is why: Calvin was not afraid. He was not afraid to face the backlash from most of the people, he was not afraid to use an unconventional method of legislating. Such boldness is something that Europeia is also famous for. Be it Independence, EuroPride, or some initiatives that ended up failing, Europeia never ceased to surprise the wider NationStates world. There was another valuable contribution brought by Calvin’s idea (as well as his other ones): they kept Europeia going, they fostered debates and articles, they contributed to the regional memes and lore.

This may all be me being biased towards my nominee and making up a story that can sell. Be that as it may, I do not think anyone can possibly argue against what I want to say next: regardless of whether EO97 did good or harm to the region, one has to admire how Calvin bounced back from this unpopular decision.

In true Calvin fashion, he started by… causing another controversy, one that has lasted until the present day. On February 12, The Panda’s Pen released the infamous article “Arnhelm: A City In Ruin”. Now, I am not going to discuss the contents of said article, the story I am writing is about Calvin Coolidge. This article mostly showcases just how central a figure Calvin was for 2020 Europeia, and is only one of the many refreshing articles released by his newspaper in 2020, examples of a sharp pen or, in this case, laptop. The Europeian Broadcasting Corporation also had Calvin release a number of articles, including one imagining Europeia with elected ministers, which also attracted considerable attention, and again he was in the spotlight - it seems that he never really left it last year.

March and early April were the time of Calvin the Interior Minister. Not even serving a full term, he managed to introduce, perhaps, the least debated thing he has ever introduced - the Daily Dose. I am not pretending to know the backstory of this idea, but I do know its ramifications. The Daily Dose became a mainstay in the ministry, but, most importantly of all, it is Calvin who has not missed a day of his dose streak since the launch of this new measurement system. That is what a Europeian leader should be - constantly leading by example, even when they have left the leadership position in question.

Having reformed recruitment, Calvin moved on to perhaps the then-most struggling domestic Ministry - Radio. Being the wizard that he is, Radio was not recognisable after his term. While his achievements in Radio are undeniable, here, too, I would like to pay attention to another trait that Calvin has exhibited many times this year - his ability to train newcomers and help them with being fully integrated. He appointed Darkslayer, a very fresh face in the region back then, his deputy, and Radio continued to thrive and successfully transitioned from Drew Boom times during Darkslayer’s own tenure as minister. Again I find myself wanting to point out the significance of this action - by our nature as a NationStates region where people come and go all the time, Integration has always been a Europeian priority, particularly that of the people that are really interested in joining but do not have any friends or contacts in the region. 2020 has seen a shift to more personalised integration techniques, and Calvin has certainly contributed with his personal engagement.

I do not wish this to be long and boring (the latter is actually never the case with anything related to Calvin), but there are still a lot of things to say. As Senator for two terms, Calvin was a vital part of the Executive Remerge discussion and implementation, then added a few of his signature ideas to the Senate floor. When the Culture Ministry seemed to be struggling, there was really only one candidate to change its course, and it was Calvin Coolidge, who, at this point predictably, turned things around. The next stop is the Senate Speakership, and I am sure something interesting will happen this term - that is just what Calvin taught us to expect last year.

This article did get rather long, but its length probably is the main takeaway from it: Calvin was literally everywhere. He drove activity across all of Europeia, and it is in all honesty hard to imagine where the region would be now without his energy - and I did not even mention his participation in two Presidential races. For his commitment, passion, a sometimes lighthearted approach, for his fresh view on things, and for much, much more, I nominate the Venerable Calvin Coolidge the Tableless, Pope of the Churches of Nethel and Swift and Europeia’s favourite panda, for Europeian of the Year 2020.
 
Seva, this is a very cool article about a very cool person....Calvin! I especially like how you took some of the more controversial events surronding Calvin, and dove into those a little deeper into explaining how they exemplify the best parts of Calvin (even if we don't always see eye to eye at the time!). You did a great job highlighting Calvin's achievements over this past year, and I think his consistency and tenacity is something everyone should look up to (I hope I can keep up with the daily Wire updates :p). I am proud to call Calvin a friend, and I know he will continue his political legacy in 2021 too!
 
I'm glad you also highligthed the controversies and how Calvin bounced back from them, because I feel like this just goes to show that, even though we may at times disagree, Calvin is just an absolutely dedicated player. Calvin and I probably didn't always see eye to eye professionally or personally, but I've really grown fond of him and admire him, He has a good amount of humour and heart, a great work ethic and isn't afraid to argue. And that certainly makes him more than worthy of this thoughtful nomination!
 
I can only echo the words of Monkey and Pichto above me; this was a fantastic read and Calvin is a worthy nomination.
 
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