I have long been a fan of Clint Eastwood. Now into his 90s he has an incredible body of work going back … well a long way. In fact, I cannot remember a time when Clint Eastwood was not famous. Aside from his great movies, the thing I love about Clint is that he can deliver a line like no one else.
“Go ahead, make my day.” and “Do you feel lucky, well do you … punk? Are among the most totally boss moments of moviedom.
My personal favourite is in The Outlaw Josey Wales, when Clint asks a young, would-be bounty hunter who has come to arrest him, why he (the bounty hunter) is doing that job. The young man replies,
“It’s a living” and Clint responds by saying:
“Dying ain’t much of a living.”
Legendary.
But I have to confess that in the last week or two, I have seen a challenger for Clint’s crown. From the most unexpected place. And I also am forced to admit that this guy is even more admirable, because Dirty Harry, Josey Wales and the like are all scripted and while wonderful, ultimately just entertainment, although Mrs Doyle would disagree on the wonderful part!
Whereas Volodymyr Zelensky is most certainly not in a scripted, entertainment environment.
I cannot think of a more admirable political figure, well ever, than Mr Zelensky. A former actor who became the leader of the Ukraine almost by accident, he has become the kind of leader that every country wishes it could have. Unlike pretty well every political figure since about Henry V, he is actually getting in and doing the fighting. Not only this but inspiring his country, actually the world, while doing it.
When Vladimir Putin (a leader at the other end of the scale) put out propaganda that Zelensky had fled Ukraine following the Russian invasion, Zelensky immediately filmed himself in the middle of Kiev and posted it to Twitter (perhaps the first-ever admirable use of that platform) stating that:
“There are a lot of fakes out there but I am here.”
What a guy!
While Vladimir Putin (vile and revolting thing that he is) has the apparatus of a former superpower at his disposal, Zelensky effectively neutralised it with the equipment that you cannot get out of the hand of a teenager!
While this is almost beyond cool, the quote I love best for its wonderful summary of what is going on, while also highlighting the dubious role we in the west have played by appeasing Putin, is his response to Joe Biden’s offer of an American airlift to safety. While most people would have used elbows and knees to get on that aircraft, Zelensky responded:
“The fight is here. I need anti-tank ammo, not a ride.”
What a guy!
There in 12 words is pretty much all you need to know about what Russia is doing, what so many others are not and how Ukraine has become the nation that is showing the world what courage, conviction and guts are. He later struck a distinctly Churchillian note when he said
“This is our land, our country, our children and we will defend all of this.”
And he has matched words with actions, picking up a rifle and going out to fight against one of the most formidable armies of all time.
I don’t know about you, but I am struggling to think of any politician who has so quickly shown so many so much courage. We can only hope it is rewarded.
Bill Doyle, The Courier’s occasional guest columnist
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Ukrainian leader matching words with actions
Mar 15, 2022
I have long been a fan of Clint Eastwood. Now into his 90s he has an incredible body of work going back … well a long way. In fact, I cannot remember a time when Clint Eastwood was not famous. Aside from his great movies, the thing I love about Clint is that he can deliver a line like no one else.
“Go ahead, make my day.” and “Do you feel lucky, well do you … punk? Are among the most totally boss moments of moviedom.
My personal favourite is in The Outlaw Josey Wales, when Clint asks a young, would-be bounty hunter who has come to arrest him, why he (the bounty hunter) is doing that job. The young man replies,
“It’s a living” and Clint responds by saying:
“Dying ain’t much of a living.”
Legendary.
But I have to confess that in the last week or two, I have seen a challenger for Clint’s crown. From the most unexpected place. And I also am forced to admit that this guy is even more admirable, because Dirty Harry, Josey Wales and the like are all scripted and while wonderful, ultimately just entertainment, although Mrs Doyle would disagree on the wonderful part!
Whereas Volodymyr Zelensky is most certainly not in a scripted, entertainment environment.
I cannot think of a more admirable political figure, well ever, than Mr Zelensky. A former actor who became the leader of the Ukraine almost by accident, he has become the kind of leader that every country wishes it could have. Unlike pretty well every political figure since about Henry V, he is actually getting in and doing the fighting. Not only this but inspiring his country, actually the world, while doing it.
When Vladimir Putin (a leader at the other end of the scale) put out propaganda that Zelensky had fled Ukraine following the Russian invasion, Zelensky immediately filmed himself in the middle of Kiev and posted it to Twitter (perhaps the first-ever admirable use of that platform) stating that:
“There are a lot of fakes out there but I am here.”
What a guy!
While Vladimir Putin (vile and revolting thing that he is) has the apparatus of a former superpower at his disposal, Zelensky effectively neutralised it with the equipment that you cannot get out of the hand of a teenager!
While this is almost beyond cool, the quote I love best for its wonderful summary of what is going on, while also highlighting the dubious role we in the west have played by appeasing Putin, is his response to Joe Biden’s offer of an American airlift to safety. While most people would have used elbows and knees to get on that aircraft, Zelensky responded:
“The fight is here. I need anti-tank ammo, not a ride.”
What a guy!
There in 12 words is pretty much all you need to know about what Russia is doing, what so many others are not and how Ukraine has become the nation that is showing the world what courage, conviction and guts are. He later struck a distinctly Churchillian note when he said
“This is our land, our country, our children and we will defend all of this.”
And he has matched words with actions, picking up a rifle and going out to fight against one of the most formidable armies of all time.
I don’t know about you, but I am struggling to think of any politician who has so quickly shown so many so much courage. We can only hope it is rewarded.
Bill Doyle, The Courier’s occasional guest columnist
About The Author
Blake Jarrett
Blake Jarrett is an experienced journalist based in Narrabri. With a strong passion for sport Blake first began work with Northern NSW Football as a soccer reporter/commentator.