Friday, April 23, 2010

Theodore Roosevelt on this day in 1910:

"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 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 and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for 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 knew neither victory nor defeat."
"Citizenship in a Republic,"Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

11 comments:

nsomers said...

I think this speech exemplifies Theodore Roosevelt's approach to the presidency: that you have to go out there and get things done in order to be successful, you can't just stand back and hope someone else does it for you.

rlepak said...

I think this does more than exemplify Theodore Roosevelt’s approach to the presidency. He said this during a time of war. It shows what kind of person he was, what he believe in, and how affective he was at inspiring our nation. It is also an overall great statement about life in general

PMiner said...

well said rachel, i pretty much agree with her statement. Theres not really much else to say... so now im gonna talk about how i love teddy roosevelt portrayed by robin williams in night at the museum; however, i don't buy into the relationship with sacagawea.. and now let talk spit about the musical... yada yada yada... Mr. Bretzmann, enjoy this lame excuse of a blog

AAgostini said...

Agreed. This quotation is certainly powerful and interesting to view in both historical and modern day context. The media of today's world critiques leaders endlessly, so if we take Roosevelt's word and consider the critic irrelevant,politics can be seen from a new perspective. While reading this quotation it is interesting to step away from that third person point of view and wonder what has been the thought process of leaders throughout all of history. It is interesting to consider whether individuals like Roosevelt were leaders because they were great or if they became great because they were leaders.
Outside of historical/political context, this speech is equally inspiring. Effort, with great devotion and great intentions, is truly valuable.

K-Iglinski said...

This speech sows that Roosevelt wasn't afraid to get things done that some people may have not liked. He knew that this would make him successful and that he wasnt going to be handed anything.

aprichard said...

To be "marred by dust and sweat and blood" is an understatement of the engagement of success and failures of involvement in life, more or less to the presidency. Seeing that this has been applied to the president, or to leaders, but I feel we can expand the audience to all those who have faced the "to be or not to be" challenges of society. Though it is speaking strongly of those who have tasted victory and defeat, there is undoubtably more to it than just leadership. The cowards, defined as Roosevelt calims, or by other means, are only cowards by their failure to get involved and apply themselves. The brave and victorious role models are all who have risked failure, risked success and risked everything. So, I feel this should be applied to more than just leaders, presidents, war time heroes and modern day heroes.

jmarczewski said...

Good quote. Reminds me of the Brewers. Yeah, they're pretty bad, but at least they're professional baseball players who give their best effort each day to win. Wait, am I still talking about the Brewers?

Teddy Roosevelt was a pretty darn good speaker. We could use a President like that these days...

I'm still trying to think of a catch phrase for if--correction, when--I become a broadcaster. Maybe I'll use something from here. Or I could go the alternative route and quote the sentimental commercial by saying "WOW! That's a high fly ball!"

Diana said...

This was certainly an inspiring speech. President Roosevelt sure knew how to keep moving forward even in rough times like war. His ability to make speeches helped to instill courage in all of the people who looked up to him especially the soldiers.

j.polinski said...

Too bad Teddy Roosevelt couldn't have been around like 100 years later...we coulda used someone like him around now..

Brandon D said...

I think this really shows an attitude that should be embraced by our time. We could really use someone like him now

msenk said...

This quotation is very intresting, I have never heard it before. I think that it ties very well in with his policy of "negociate peacefully, but carry a big stick." It does also carry a more powerful meaning of accomplishing tasks.