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Greatest American

post #1 of 35
6/20/05 at 8:14am
Thread Starter 
The Discovery Channel is doing a show (actually a series of shows) asking who is the greatest American. The live conclusion show will be on Sunday, June 26, with the results of the voting being announced.

I thought this would be an interesting thread here. Hopefully it won't get too vicious.

The poll choices above are the final five that Discovery Channel presented. I had nothing to do with it.
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post #2 of 35
6/20/05 at 8:37am
I'm going with the childhood favorite of Lincoln. I'm glad he is not around today to be dragged through the mud by the media over his clinical depression or whatever. I think he led the US through one of its most critical times and did an outstanding job of it.
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post #3 of 35
6/20/05 at 8:44am
I couldn't decide and it is kind of a bad choice when Ronald Reagan is on the list. . Why where there no women on the list? I know I couldn't pick just one. Lincoln was my childhood favorite but I think he was an ok president not the best. I loved Martin L. King, but couldn't put a preacher as my favorite. How about Helen Keller or Susan B Anthony or Sacawajae(sorry about the mispelled names) or Harriet Tubman. To name a few. Or Even Elmo lol . Told you I couldn't decide but I do think the list needs to include women. Catlover7731
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post #4 of 35
6/20/05 at 9:07am
Thread Starter 
I think the list has been narrowed down based on public voting. I'm sure Reagan was included more because his death being such a short time ago brought a lot of information about his life to the fore, and that is still fresh in people's minds. So he's simply more familiar than many others on this list.

The top 100 did include several women: http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence...00/top100.html
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post #5 of 35
6/20/05 at 9:47am
Thats a tough one, cause many were great for different reasons, and for different eras.

After reading some excerpts from McCulloughs book 1776 I am more impressed with Washington than before, he was a military leader who risked his own life. I can't even imagine that now with all the arm chair
war mongering that goes on now.
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post #6 of 35
6/20/05 at 10:08am
I'm not quite sure *who* I'd vote for as the Greatest American, but I have to say I'm disappointed the number of people on there who were nominated for their celebrity. Madonna? Tom Cruise? At least Ellen Degeneres helped expose Americans to a postitive gay image.

What about the people behind the Declaration of Independence (besides Franklin and Jefferson) or the Constitution? What about the military leaders who fought and won the Revolution, or the commanders of the Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War? What about the first pioneers who went west?

I think this displays the appalling lack of knowledge Americans have about their own history.
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post #7 of 35
6/20/05 at 12:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by okeefecl
I'm not quite sure *who* I'd vote for as the Greatest American, but I have to say I'm disappointed the number of people on there who were nominated for their celebrity. Madonna? Tom Cruise? At least Ellen Degeneres helped expose Americans to a postitive gay image.

What about the people behind the Declaration of Independence (besides Franklin and Jefferson) or the Constitution? What about the military leaders who fought and won the Revolution, or the commanders of the Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War? What about the first pioneers who went west?

I think this displays the appalling lack of knowledge Americans have about their own history.
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post #8 of 35
6/20/05 at 12:41pm
I think it's pretty hard to pick one person. My compromise to this is picking a group-The immigrants, those who came here on their own and those that had no choice. They are the people both men and women who came here that made our lives possible, did the dirty work, fought in our wars, survived the Great Depression and stood up to those who did not want them here.
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post #9 of 35
6/20/05 at 12:54pm
There are also the regular guy soldiers like from the world wars, and ALL of them for that matter. We tend to just go for the glamour but I mean who knows how many regular guys made it possible for key battles to be won and made the generals look good.
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post #10 of 35
6/20/05 at 5:47pm
I think I'm more likely to choose one who has contributed artistically, in a form that has been preserved and will be enjoyed by millions for decades, if not hundreds of years, and in a way that has brought enlightenment and joy. They preserve our cultures for future generations to understand.

I don't trust politicians of any age, regardless of their reputations and/or obvious contributions.
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post #11 of 35
6/20/05 at 7:02pm
I saw a commercial for that show and was immediately turned off when I heard some of the people being considered for the title.
The Greatest American isn't a politician, a celebrity, a news-maker. He/she is the EveryMan/Woman who gets up in the morning, goes to work, lives a decent life, tries to make the world a better place if even in small ways (volunteering, community service, etc), and raises his/her children (if any) to be decent, law abiding, intelligent and civic-minded individuals. These are the people who built this country and have kept it going, even through times like the Great Depression, wars, etc.
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post #12 of 35
6/20/05 at 8:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mom of 10 Cats
I saw a commercial for that show and was immediately turned off when I heard some of the people being considered for the title.
The Greatest American isn't a politician, a celebrity, a news-maker. He/she is the EveryMan/Woman who gets up in the morning, goes to work, lives a decent life, tries to make the world a better place if even in small ways (volunteering, community service, etc), and raises his/her children (if any) to be decent, law abiding, intelligent and civic-minded individuals. These are the people who built this country and have kept it going, even through times like the Great Depression, wars, etc.


Actually, that person would be my dad.
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post #13 of 35
6/21/05 at 11:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mom of Franz
I think it's pretty hard to pick one person. My compromise to this is picking a group-The immigrants, those who came here on their own and those that had no choice. They are the people both men and women who came here that made our lives possible, did the dirty work, fought in our wars, survived the Great Depression and stood up to those who did not want them here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mom of 10 Cats
I saw a commercial for that show and was immediately turned off when I heard some of the people being considered for the title.
The Greatest American isn't a politician, a celebrity, a news-maker. He/she is the EveryMan/Woman who gets up in the morning, goes to work, lives a decent life, tries to make the world a better place if even in small ways (volunteering, community service, etc), and raises his/her children (if any) to be decent, law abiding, intelligent and civic-minded individuals. These are the people who built this country and have kept it going, even through times like the Great Depression, wars, etc.
Very good choices, which, along with Carol and Sooz's suggestions, I can only second. The poll is far too much like TIME's Person of the Year.
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post #14 of 35
6/21/05 at 12:57pm
Well if you want to be picky, you would remove George Washington and Ben Franklin from the list. They would never have considered themselves "Americans". If you were to ask someone from the post revolution period where they were from, they would have told what state they were from rather then the country they were from. For example Washington refered to himself as a Virginian and Franklin a Pennsylvanian.

But that's if you wanted to be picky
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post #15 of 35
6/21/05 at 10:16pm
Q: What was the greatest thing George Washington did for America?

A: He quit.
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post #16 of 35
6/22/05 at 6:24am
We had a similar thing in UK last year (?). There were about 100 nominated people, and the ten most popular got a TV show each, where someone reasonably famous pled their case. They were people like Isaac Newton, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Elizabeth 1, Princess Diana etc etc. The eventual winner was Winston Churchill. I can see why he was the one who won, as probably more people know who he is than someone like Isaac Newton, and he did lead this country through one of its darkest periods with great strength & rhetoric, but I wish they'd leave politicians out of these things, and focus more on people who make a more positive contribution to society.

They were good programmes though!

Sue
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post #17 of 35
6/22/05 at 11:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by millyanddaisy
We had a similar thing in UK last year (?). There were about 100 nominated people, and the ten most popular got a TV show each, where someone reasonably famous pled their case. They were people like Isaac Newton, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Elizabeth 1, Princess Diana etc etc. The eventual winner was Winston Churchill. I can see why he was the one who won, as probably more people know who he is than someone like Isaac Newton, and he did lead this country through one of its darkest periods with great strength & rhetoric, but I wish they'd leave politicians out of these things, and focus more on people who make a more positive contribution to society.

They were good programmes though!

Sue
I remember that - I used some of the shows in school, and also several articles about Churchill.
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post #18 of 35
6/22/05 at 6:47pm
I looked at the list and my favorite is Rosa Parks. Just an ordinary person who one day got fed up with the bigotry and stood her ground. In general, I would pick any of the human rights people (Susan B. Anthony, MLK, Malcolm X, Frederick) and if there were any, the environmentalists.
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post #19 of 35
6/28/05 at 5:48pm
I didn't watch the show. What were the results of the TV poll?
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post #20 of 35
7/3/05 at 10:52pm
The Pilgrims??? THE PILGRIMS????

The greatest, and first "Americans" were the Indians.

I often wonder what life would be like on this continent if the people from the east never moved west (or east towards alaska) What if there was a strange mountanious blockage that kept north, central, and south america, and canada, blocked off from other cultures? Sure we wouldnt be here today, but something more wonderful would. Its only been 600 years since columbus "discovered" america, and about 400 since people started to settle, I'm sure people living here would still continue to live off the land as they did before.

The suffering and hardships they had to endure is beyond compare, even to slavery. I wonder how europe would have liked it if china or russia or india had weapons of our time to use against europe in their time. I hate it how they just assumed that because the people living there did not speak their language, had darker skin, and hunted for their food, that they were savages and shouldnt even be allowed to live. How much does this say for creatures such as dogs and cats? Just because they dont speak our language and they look different from us, should they be persecuted?

Grrr... sometimes history really ticks me off...

it has its good points though.. yes it does... I love it when bad governments get their just desserts. The boston tea party cracks me up.
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post #21 of 35
7/4/05 at 9:10am
Thread Starter 
Not to get totally off topic, but the biggest reason the Natives were savages in the eyes of the Pilgrims, explorers, settlers, etc. was because they weren't Christian. They would accept them if they converted. Plain and simple, if you weren't Christian you had to be evil in their eyes. I'm glad to see that this attitude has mostly changed over the last 400-600 years!
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post #22 of 35
7/4/05 at 10:10pm
The CBC just had a series here in Canada about this where the entire country voted- Tommy Douglas (first socialist (NDP - social democratc party actually)Premier of Sask and the founder if our medical system - which he intoroduced 1st in his own province)- won. Admittedly, I voted for him since I do think we have a great health care system and b/c Tommy Douglas truly was a great man! It was a Conservtive govt that actually implemented the national program and Judge Emmet Hall - whose commission studied it befotre implementing it - also deserves credit.

I am not an American but among that group, I'd vote for Lincoln because he held the country together. FDR would also be a great choice I think.
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post #23 of 35
7/4/05 at 10:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CyberKitten
The CBC just had a series here in Canada about this where the entire country voted- Tommy Douglas (first socialist (NDP - social democratc party actually)Premier of Sask and the founder if our medical system - which he intoroduced 1st in his own province)- won. Admittedly, I voted for him since I do think we have a great health care system and b/c Tommy Douglas truly was a great man! It was a Conservtive govt that actually implemented the national program and Judge Emmet Hall - whose commission studied it befotre implementing it - also deserves credit.

I am not an American but among that group, I'd vote for Lincoln because he held the country together. FDR would also be a great choice I think.
*sigh* you are very lucky to have a good medical system. I love my country but it's embarressing how many of us don't have health coverage.
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post #24 of 35
7/4/05 at 11:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by valanhb
Not to get totally off topic, but the biggest reason the Natives were savages in the eyes of the Pilgrims, explorers, settlers, etc. was because they weren't Christian. They would accept them if they converted. Plain and simple, if you weren't Christian you had to be evil in their eyes. I'm glad to see that this attitude has mostly changed over the last 400-600 years!
Well not exactly the only reason, not being a white didn't help, think later in the south what we did to blacks who were very Christian.
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post #25 of 35
7/5/05 at 1:19am
George W. Bush
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post #26 of 35
8/2/05 at 10:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cougar
George W. Bush
I'd LOVE to know why someone would think Shrub is the greatest American!
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post #27 of 35
8/2/05 at 10:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ugaimes
I'd LOVE to know why someone would think Shrub is the greatest American!
Some people really do, it's an emotional thing, I don't get it obviously but he is popular with people he is screwing over too, like the poor etc. It's a new moment in democracy, get people to vote for you even though they would be better off without you...
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post #28 of 35
8/2/05 at 10:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marge
Some people really do, it's an emotional thing, I don't get it obviously but he is popular with people he is screwing over too, like the poor etc. It's a new moment in democracy, get people to vote for you even though they would be better off without you...
Where would he be if not for good old Karl Rove, spinning his crap into gold-plated crap??
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post #29 of 35
8/2/05 at 10:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ugaimes
Where would he be if not for good old Karl Rove, spinning his crap into gold-plated crap??
Oh it's totally Rove spinning, I mean look what they did to Anne Richards. If Bush hadn't made that hurdle he wouldn't be president and they made up such weird stuff to ruin Richards. I can't believe how many people fall for this crap but they do.
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post #30 of 35
8/2/05 at 11:48am
How bout our troops fighting for our country....They are my heros
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