The Bravest Man I Know, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

It never surprised me that a comedian with no political experience has become a world-class statesman, a David hurling stones at Goliath, Harry Potter fighting Voldemort--a hero. It's always the one seeking truth and justice, not the one seeking power, who makes the best leader. In the first book of C.S. Lewis's Narnia series, The Magician's Nephew, in which Aslan the lion creates the land of Narnia, a London cabby and his wife find themselves asked to be king and queen of the new land. Astonished, the cabby--later, King Frank--humbly demurs: he's got no experience, he says, and he's not educated. Aslan asks a number of questions--would he be fair? Not pick favorites among his children or his subjects? Defend the land? Yes, yes, yes. The cabby qualifies because he wants to do right by all.

It's the truly serious who succeed as comedians, and Zelensky's best comedy reveals dedication to the truth, to his identity:

 

 

 

 

Vladimir Putin can throw bombs and throw his weight around. He can kill Zelensky, and make a martyr who will haunt him for the rest of his career.  Military might, Putin's iron fist, can only do so much. He can kill the mouse that roared, but never the desire for freedom and self-determination, what Zelensky is so passionately defending at the risk of paying the ultimate price. The underdog with the balls of steel is the moral giant, the one putting his life on the line for all that makes life worth living.