Okay, I think it’s a great idea the Discovery Channel has with outlining the 100 greatest Americans.
The only problem is the list itself, which the American public picked. For the most part it’s not bad. But there are some on the list that are just wrong and some that were somehow left off the list.
First one that should be no where near the top 100: Dr. (I use that lightly) Phil. Second Pat Tillman: Great American; yes; top 100, eh, probably not. John Edwards…(this goes to show the attention span of many Americans.) I mean come on.
Names that I noticed were missing in a quick glance (in no particular order): Woodrow Wilson, US Grant, W.T. Sherman, James Madison. I’m sure there are more, just can’t think of any more.
Any thoughts on the list and who should/shouldn’t be on it?
Here is the list of nominees:
Abraham Lincoln
Albert Einstein
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Hamilton
Amelia Earhart
Andrew Carnegie
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Audie Murphy
Babe Ruth
Barack Obama
Barbara Bush
Benjamin Franklin
Bill Clinton
Bill Cosby (William Henry Cosby, Jr.)
Bill Gates
Billy Graham
Bob Hope
Brett Favre
Carl Sagan
Cesar Chavez
Charles Lindbergh
Christopher Reeve
Chuck Yeager
Clint Eastwood
Colin Powell
Condoleezza Rice
Donald Trump
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eleanor Roosevelt (Anna Eleanor Roosevelt)
Ellen DeGeneres
Elvis Presley
Frank Sinatra
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Frederick Douglass
George H. W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Lucas
George Patton
George Washington
George Washington Carver
Harriet Ross Tubman
Harry Truman
Helen Keller
Henry Ford
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Howard Hughes
Hugh Hefner
Jackie Robinson (Jack Roosevelt Robinson)
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jesse Owens
Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Stewart
John Edwards
John Glenn
John F. Kennedy
John Wayne
Johnny Carson (John William Carson)
Jonas Edward Salk
Joseph Smith Jr.
Katharine Hepburn
Lance Armstrong
Laura Bush
Lucille Ball
Lyndon B. Johnson
Madonna (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone)
Malcolm X (Malcolm Little)
Marilyn Monroe
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
Martha Stewart
Martin Luther King Jr.
Maya Angelou
Mel Gibson
Michael Jackson
Michael Jordan
Michael Moore
Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.)
Neil Alden Armstrong
Nikola Tesla
Oprah Winfrey
Pat Tillman
Dr. Phil McGraw
Ray Charles
Richard Nixon
Robert Kennedy
Ronald Reagan
Rosa Parks
Rudolph W. Giuliani
Rush Limbaugh
Sam Walton
Steve Jobs
Steven Spielberg
Susan B. Anthony
Theodore Roosevelt
Thomas Edison
Thomas Jefferson
Tiger Woods
Tom Cruise
Tom Hanks
Walt Disney
Wrights Brothers (Orville & Wilbur Wright)
Me: I think we could pretty safely elminate Arnold, Obama, Barabra Bush, Brett Farve, Christopher Reeve, Clint Eastwood, Ellen DeGeneres, George Lucas, Hillary Clinton, Hugh Hefner, Jackie Kennedy, John Edwards, Laura Bush, Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Mel Gibson, Michael Moore, Dr. Phil, Rush Limbaugh, Steven Speilberg, Pat Tillman, Tiger Woods, and Toms Cruise and Hanks. Like 'em or dislike 'em, they really don't merit inclusion in the Greatest Americans list, in my opinion. There are others I would probably dump, but I'll leave it there for now.
Grant should be on there for sure. No doubt. The list should almost be thrown out without him. I also would like to see a little Adams' family action: John, Abigail, and/or John Quincy. There was a time when there would have been no doubt that John Pershing would make the list, and I would add George C. Marshall and, hold your breath, Douglas MacArthur, also. If we want sports folks, how about Joe Louis and Ted Williams? How about Carrie Chapman Catt? Entertainment is tougher, but maybe Louis Armstrong, Frank Capra, and Berry Gordy would be worthwhile additions. (Considering the nature of the list, why isn't Stephen King up there?)
Anyway, this could go on for days, and it might. Thanks for the heads up Marine II.
9 comments:
By the way, it kind of looks like I'm saying that Carrie Chapman Catt was a sports figure. She wasn't.
But maybe we should talk about Babe Didrickson or Mia Hamm.
What about Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, or James Madison?
I would also dump Earhart, Obama, George H.W. and Barbara Bush, the Clintons, Favre, Reeve, DeGeneres, the Kennedys, Marilyne Monroe (should be James, right?), Martha Stewart, Michael Jackson, Michael Moore, Pat Tilman, Dr. Phil, and Tom Cruise.
Oh, and the correct answer for "who is the greatest American" is George Washington. All other answers are incorrect.
There's nothing of our literary legacy on that list, either, aside from Twain and Angelou (there's a pair, eh?): Hemingway, Tom Clancy, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harlan Ellison, Ogden Nash, something...
Ogden Nash??!! What about Jonathan Edwards and Reinhold Niebuhr? John Marshall and Oliver Wendell Holmes? John Dewey?
There's probably plenty I could add to this discussion, but I don't feel like it now. I'll just say that I generally agree with the subtractions and additions so far. But it did remind me that the CBC did a similar exercise a few months ago for the 100 Greatest Canadians. After a long ad campaign and much public input, they had a whole series on the list. How about the top 10:
1) Tommy Douglas (Premier of Saskatchewan in the 1950s and federal leader of the New Democratic Party in the 1960s. Regarded as the creator of government healthcare.)
2) Terry Fox (Ran across Canada in support of cancer research. A victim himself, he had had a leg amputated, and died when the cancer spread to his lungs about a third of the way through his effort. Terry Fox Runs are held annually around the world.)
3) Pierre Elliot Trudeau (Prime Minister for most of the years 1968-1984. Patriated the Constitution in 1982 and is seen as one of the great federalists.)
4) Sir Frederick Banting (Lead discoverer of insulin therapy for diabetes.)
5) David Suzuki (world renowned environmentalist.)
6) Lester B. Pearson (Prime Minister from 1963-1968. Won Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his role in the creation of UN Peacekeeping in the Suez Crisis.)
7) Don Cherry (sports/TV personality and former hockey coach.)
8) Sir John A. McDonald (Main Father of Confederation and first Prime Minister.)
9) Alexander Graham Bell (no description necessary I think. Interesting that he makes both lists. Bell himself considered the telephone a joint Canadian/American invention.)
10) Wayne Gretzky (again, no description necessary.)
Like the Discovery Channel list, the CBC list generated a lot of discussion and controversy, often about many of the same issues on including pop or current people as opposed to political figures of the past (e.g. Don Cherry in the top 10). But that's part of the nature of these sorts of things.
11-100.
I'm quite heartened by the number of people on the list who deserve to be there. Perhaps this whole history gig is doing some good.
Ralph,
I'm not saying they all deserve to be there -- though you could easily drop enough ephemera from the list to fit in both of our recommendations -- I'm just saying that their absence is glaring.
I would second all of Ralph's suggestions.
A
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