- Pronouns
- He/Him
Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, for all of his faults and complicated legacy, had some poignant thoughts about what it means to be a leader. One of the most enduring of these ideas is contained in an eminently quotable speech he gave in April of 1910 that we now know as "The Man in the Arena" speech. One of my favorite craft beers is even named after it. In part, it reads:
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.
As someone who has led this community, I believe in this sentiment with every fiber of my being and over the last year I have closely observed one individual who has embodied it. This individual has stood tall in the center of the arena, through triumphs and setbacks and in the face of criticism and continued to serve to the best of his ability. He is my Europeian of 2021. He is Kazaman.
In his capacity as Grand Admiral early in the year and as a high ranking commander later on, he helped manage Europeia's participation in historic operations such as Boom Beach, Drama Llama, Equestria, and Genua. He revamped and expanded the ERN's training materials. He used his impressive personal connections to improve cooperation with organizations outside of Europeia's traditional partner network. Perhaps most importantly, he played a central role in mentoring multiple first-time Grand Admirals.
In a hotly contested presidential election, he won in the first round against multiple worthy and strong opponents. During his time in office he helped set the foundations for the gains in gameside activity we see the fruits of today, reshaping how RMB moderation and engagement is done and modernizing various tag telegrams and dispatches. Then there were the successful celebration of EuroPride and a critical and marvelously productive Independence Summit.
As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kaz continued his work of expanding relations and making inroads where others either have not or could not, paving the way for what will surely be a significant geopolitical alignment post Frontier/Stronghold update. He served as a central voice on the Transition Advisory Board.
In the Senate, he took on a large role in the discussions surrounding amendments to the Information Act and worked toward what he viewed as a more productive framework for executive oversight, though those proposals were ultimately unsuccessful. Agree or disagree with his views, he stood firm in his duty to protect the institution of the Europeian Intelligence Agency in the face of vigorous scrutiny and criticism, ultimately taking on the enormous challenge of replacing NES as Director where he continues to give Europeia the tools to defend her interests.
When a public figure is truly leading, universal agreement simply isn't a luxury available to us. When one leads, one will periodically fail. They will do and say things that are potentially unpopular and do what's right anyway. They will look the consequences of doing so in the face and they won't run away and hide when things don't go well. They will stand tall in the center of the arena. They will continue to strive valiantly. They will continue to dare greatly. They will do as Kazman has done and they will earn a place apart from those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Please join me in supporting Kazaman as our Europeian of the Year for 2021.
