25 Greatest Americans

[SierraCook]

Vote for the top 5 greatest Americans.

http://tv.channel.aol.com/greatestamerican

Here is the list of the top 25 greatest Americans.

Muhammad Ali
Lance Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
George W. Bush
Bill Clinton
Walt Disney
Thomas Edison
Albert Einstein
Henry Ford
Benjamin Franklin
Bill Gates
Billy Graham
Bob Hope
Thomas Jefferson
John F. Kennedy
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Abraham Lincoln
Rosa Parks
Elvis Pressley
Ronald Reagan
Eleanor Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
George Washington
Oprah Winfrey
The Wright Brothers


Who is your greatest American? Personally, I would have to say Chuck Yeager. I think that breaking the sound barrier is one of the great achievements in the last century.

 

[Raine]

Why is Lincoln on there? If people really knew what he stood for.

 

[GB]

I would have to say that some of the greatest Americans are some of the unknown people. The men and women in the military, the police and firemen, the doctors, nurses, health care givers, the teachers, the people who help others without getting anything in return other than the satisfaction of doing something good. I find these people much greater than someone like Walt Disney or Elvis.

 

[pdswife]

I agree GB this list sounds more like "who's the most popular American". Not that these are bad people. They are good for their own reasons. But, when I think GREAT Americans Elvis just doesn't pop to the top of the list.

 

[SierraCook]

I would have to say that some of the greatest Americans are some of the unknown people. The men and women in the military, the police and firemen, the doctors, nurses, health care givers, the teachers, the people who help others without getting anything in return other than the satisfaction of doing something good. I find these people much greater than someone like Walt Disney or Elvis.

I agree wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, the biggest newsmakers tend to get the vote. I would have to say that the greatest Americans are the everyday working folks, whether you are Mom, the baker, grocery clerk, firefighter, forester, nurse, etc. We are the people that keep this country going and I think that most people tend to forget that.

 

[Russell]

How come I am not on this list?..I am just kidding but (I agree with GB

 

[BlueCat]

I have a problem with Elvis being on there, along with Walt Disney, Muhammed Ali and Rosa Parks too. One brave deed doesn't make you the greatest American. Neither does building an empire to a mouse or being a washed up drug addicted rock and roller who died of his indulgences, not to mention a draft dodging boxer - even if he was a great one. On top of this, there are several womanizers on the list (Clinton, Jefferson, King and Roosevelt that I know of). They could have tried a bit harder I think.

BC

 

[middie]

i agree 100 % gb

 

[mudbug]

Amen, geebs. It's the working class heroes for me.

 

[SpiceUmUp]

Picking the greatest (almost) anything is a subjective act and filled with absurdity. Of course this is popularity. DO people really understand what greatness is? Do the people answering the question give it thought beyond "well I have heard of him"?

Lincoln a great American? Ok, I can go with that, I do know what he stood for and I also know what he stood up to. A weaker man or a weaker president and we might not now have a USA.



Ali? No. A great boxer, a courageous man, but a great American? No.



Chuck Yeager? Maybe, but not because he broker the sound barrier. That was a mater of being a great pilot and a brave man. If he is a great American, it is because he served his country bravely and diligently.



But you see, I view this as a Great AMERICAN, as a opposed to an American that was great.



It is subjective and semantics and the exercise is foolish and futile.

 

[buckytom]

here's the updated list:

Muhammad Ali
Lance Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Russel Miguzigoldfish
Buckytom
George W. Bush
Bill Clinton
Walt Disney
Thomas Edison
Albert Einstein
Henry Ford
Benjamin Franklin
Bill Gates
Billy Graham
Bob Hope
Thomas Jefferson
John F. Kennedy
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Abraham Lincoln
Rosa Parks
Elvis Pressley
Ronald Reagan
Eleanor Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
George Washington
Oprah Winfrey
The Wright Brothers

 

[middie]

bucky i think you forgot a few !!!!!!!!!

 

[buckytom]

lol middie. i was gonna list 25 people from here, but then i thought someone might get offended if i left them out.

 

[Claire]

How funny. I was reading Chuck Yeager's autobiography a number of years ago, and one of my coworkers just went on and on about what a great man he is. Huh? He was a great pilot, but being good at one thing does not make you a great person. Actually, in his own estimation he wasn't the best of fathers or husbands. People who do one thing well are a great asset to the human race, but it doesn't necessarily make them a great person. Chances are the greatest people in the world live right next to you. I don't mean to denigrate great accomplishments, just that sometimes the people who accomplish the most in one area really fail in others; they fail to develop themselves overall. I hung out with a Mensa group for awhile, and most of the men were living off their work-a-day wives and girlfreinds (somehow the women all seemed to do better. There's something in there where I don't want to go).

 

[Dove]

I would have to say that some of the greatest Americans are some of the unknown people. The men and women in the military, the police and firemen, the doctors, nurses, health care givers, the teachers, the people who help others without getting anything in return other than the satisfaction of doing something good. I find these people much greater than someone like Walt Disney or Elvis.

Well put GB.
If he is a great American, it is because he served his country bravely and diligently.

Thank you Spiceumup..
Dove

 

[thumpershere2]

Ditto GB you said it all

 

[Raine]

Lincoln a great American? Ok, I can go with that, I do know what he stood for and I also know what he stood up to. A weaker man or a weaker president and we might not now have a USA.

Do you really or just what the test books told you?

Lincoln was a white supremeist and very much in favor of apartheid. Lincoln set the classes for the races, setting the white race above the black.