On this day WAY back in 1910, Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech at the Sorbonne in Paris called “Citizenship in a Republic,” best known for its “Man in the Arena” passage. Here’s an excerpt:
“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; […] 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.”
~ Theodore Roosevelt ~
… meanwhile, in true “REAL Cat” style, I thought perhaps I’d tweak this one up a little by bringing it into a mid-2020s, err, lack of sensibility and maybe even making a “long story” even longer and wordier … because … THAT’S WHAT I DO:
“Hey, all you ‘lil Karens, know-it-alls, critics, and haters out there just sittin’ on the sidelines tryin’ to tell everyone else WHAT to do, HOW to do it, and WHY you don’t like their results (and that goes for ANY “man OR woman in the arena” doing anything from cleaning toilets, rearing children, teaching and raising OTHER people’s children, or for fuck’s sake even running a country). If you don’t like the way other people are handling their biz—and sometimes even YOURS— then just STFU (that means shut the fuck up, FYI), get off your opinionated ass, throw your OWN hat in the arena, and handle things by YOURSELF! Mmmkay? MMMKAY! Thanks, bye bye! Oh, and also? Have a REALLY nice day!”
~ The Real Cat Williamson ~
… and so, with that, I say THIS to all you “Statlers & Waldorfs” sitting up in the peanut gallery heckling and criticizing the actual players ’cause ya think you know SO much better how to handle “anything and everything”:
Have you ever considered that you really have got way too much damn time on your hands while you’re just sitting back watching all the time tick tickin’ away, when you could just jump on into that arena and DO SOMETHING about all these five o’clock news blues calamities you’re … err … “spectating” from the sidelines?
PUT UP or SHUT UP! Ya know what I’m sayin’? Great! So glad we got that settled! Bye, everyone! It’s me, CAT!
