A Hero For Our Times

Note: I started this post not long after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24 and wasn't able to finish it as soon as I'd have liked. But I'm posting it anyway, for the record.

Background photo: Official portrait from president.gov.ua,
used under Creative Commons license CC BY
4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Very slight color
balancing, overlay design, and typography by me.

In the face of Russia's aggression, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stood up and defended his country—as have the Ukrainians generally—and became a hero around the world.

It's pretty clear that Vladimir Putin lied to his forces about what Russia would be doing in this war. Indeed, Putin, through the state-controlled media, which is all most Russians have access to, has been lying to the Russian people about Ukraine and Ukrainians for decades.

Also...Vladimir did not count on Volodymyr. 

And he underestimated the Ukrainian people's resolve to defend their homeland, to fight for their freedom, to resist tyranny. 

But all of that was after Volodymyr had already inspired with this speech (his inaugural); I highly recommend watching the entire thing; it's fantastic--and it has English subtitles:

Every one of us is the president now. Not only 73 percent of [Ukrainian voters] who voted for me—all 100 percent.... It's our common chance for which we take shared responsibility. And now it wasn't just me who took the oath. Each of us—each of us—put a hand on the Constitution. And each of us swore loyalty to Ukraine.... Starting today, every one of us bears responsibility for Ukraine, which we will leave to our children. Each of us, in our places, can do something for the development of Ukraine.... And each of us is a migrant worker. Yes. Those who didn't manage to find their place at home but found earnings in a foreign country. Those who, fighting poverty, had to lose their dignity. But we will overcome all of this. For each of us is a Ukrainian. We are all Ukrainians. There's no less of a Ukrainian or more of a Ukrainian. The right Ukrainian or wrong Ukrainian. We are all Ukrainians.

And the invasion was before Volodymyr inspired again:

Screenshot of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's February 28, 2022, episode via Youtube.

In one of his now-daily video updates (which he posts to his Instagram account), he said the following:

When I ran for presidency, I said that each of us is the President. Because we are all responsible for our state. For our beautiful Ukraine. And now it turns out that each of us is a warrior. The warrior in his or her own place. And I am confident that each of us will win.

Here's that clip, thanks to @therecount:

New from Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy: “When I ran for presidency, I said that each of us is the president. Because we are all responsible for our state. For our beautiful Ukraine.”

“And now it turns out that each of us is a warrior ... And I am confident that each of us will win." pic.twitter.com/kwEbFFgCLS

— The Recount (@therecount) February 28, 2022

Originally I was going to sub-head this post, "All the best Zelenskyy content you need in your life." But it quickly became clear that if I populated this post with all the times that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has inspired me (and millions around the world), it would be longer than anyone would want to read—though I actually could write a whole other post (and probably will) about his communication style.

But of course, it's not his words that make him a hero. It's his actions. He could have fled, with US protection even, and he didn't. He could have saved his own life instead of risking it, as he is now doing every moment of every day. But—he stayed. He made his stand against tyranny. He is defending his and all Ukrainians' right to their land, to their country, and to their own self determination.

And that is why I call him...a hero for our times.