If you’ve followed this space at all you’d know that we’re fans of President Theodore Roosevelt’s “Citizenship in a Republic” speech—it would come to be known as “The Man in the Arena.”
According to Erin McCarthy, in addition to touching on topics such as “his own family history, war, human and property rights, the responsibilities of citizenship, and France’s falling birthrate, Roosevelt railed against cynics who looked down at men who were trying to make the world a better place. ‘The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer,’ he said. ‘A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticize work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities—all these are marks, not … of superiority but of weakness.’
Incredibly, the portion of the address that drew the loudest and longest applause was yet to come. It is from this famous paragraph that the entire speech derived its unofficial title:
“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 he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
So, what do those stirring, invigorating, inspirational words have to do with us, here, in this hallowed space?
Earlier this month, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, in his first State of the City address (delivered in Queens, natch), made the case for municipal command of buses and subways in the five boroughs. His impressive speech was based on “Let’s Go: A Case for Municipal Control and a Comprehensive Transportation Vision for the Five Boroughs,” Johnson’s 104-page report that outlines his idea for revolutionizing mass transit in NYC.
He even created a new name for this new New York transit system: Big Apple Transit. BAT.
“It’s time for the City to take back control of the subway and buses so that we can establish and implement our own transportation priorities,” Johnson demanded. “This report closely examines the problems associated with the current MTA governance structure and proposes a detailed plan, including proposed operating and capital budgets and new revenue streams, for a City-controlled entity to run our mass transit system. Recognizing that failures of government come from failures of accountability and responsibility, the report proposes three key elements for the new system: accountability, transparency, and oversight.”
Some have decried the idea. Others poked fun at it—and him.
We say, Good for you, Mr. Speaker. At least you’re trying to fix what’s wrong with the city we love. At least you’re making the effort. At least you’re willing to be the man “who is actually in the arena…”
