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JU's Top 10 Americans

Are We Better Than Those on Discovery Channel?

June 10, 2005 6:01:35 PM from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Recently, Bakerstreet wrote an article about Discovery Channel's Top 100 AmericansLink. I must say, that list is, more or less, an embarrasment. I mean come on; John Edwards? Madonna? Dr. Phil? Teddy Roosevelt came behind Oprah, for crying out loud.

So, I decided we should have our own Top Americans thing. 100 would require so many people voting, I don't think it's such a good idea. To that effect, I cut it down to the Top 10 Americans. Just post your vote here, and after a bit, I'll count them up and announce the top 10 Americans according to JU. The polls are open, let the voting begin!
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NJforever
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Reply #1 June 10, 2005 6:41:21 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
To kick things off, my vote goes to:

George Washington
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Moderateman
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Reply #2 June 10, 2005 7:23:38 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
My vote i split between the 2 docs, miler and guy.
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Reply #3 June 10, 2005 7:38:58 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
My vote i split between the 2 docs, miler and guy.


I can't say I'm not surprised...but I don't know who Miller and Guy really are, so I can't really say they don't belong there, now can I?
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MasonM
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Reply #4 June 10, 2005 7:44:49 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Me.
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Reply #5 June 10, 2005 7:48:07 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Me.


I guess ParaTed was right, it can be surprising and fun to see what direction a post takes.
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alison watkins
Join Date 06/2004
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Reply #6 June 10, 2005 7:57:44 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I'll give you a top 10 icons and top 10 JUers
(both in no order)

Top 10 icons
Bill Clinton
Oprah
Paul McCartney
Gia Carangi
Yo Yo Ma
Tyra Banks
Johnny Depp
Stephen Hawking
Miles Davis
Sara Vaughn

Who makes you want to keep coming back to JU for reasons both good and bad...

Gideon
Dharma
The Dr's Guy and Miler
Moderateman
Myrrander
Little Whip
Texas Wahine
Danny Bassette
Draginol
and of course...
NJforever

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bakerstreet
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Reply #7 June 10, 2005 9:18:40 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Not ignoring this, I'm thinkin. Gimme a bit.
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MasonM
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Reply #8 June 10, 2005 9:33:28 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Mine is a bit different but here's my take on it (previous humor aside)

Mothers
Fathers
Our Military members in harm's way
Police officers
Firemen
Rescue workers
Teachers
The waitress that gives extra good service with a smile
The doctor who doesn't charge his patient because he knows he can't afford it
Everyone who does a little something every day to make life a little more pleasant for others
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bakerstreet
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Reply #9 June 10, 2005 9:58:48 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I was going to do a list, but I have a serious problem with it. Do you choose great Americans in terms of world-wide impact? DO you choose them that contributed to American sucess? Without the likes of:

  • T. Jefferson
  • A. Lincoln
  • F. Roosevelt

There probably would be no America at all. In terms of world impact, I have to lean away from inventors, since someone eventually would have invented the stuff. In terms of American history, though, the fact that people like:
  • H. Ford
  • A.G. Bell ( as "American" as Einstein )
  • T. Edison
outpaced the rest of the world cemented our status as a world technological power.

It's tough. Not that there are so few choices that I have to fall back on Dr. Phil, but that there are SO MANY people who directly influenced our success and evolution. Maybe if I think a bit more I will be able to look at it in terms of a top ten. I dunno.
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Reply #10 June 10, 2005 10:01:42 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
The interesting thing about this is that you can interpret it anyway you want. Mason's answer is very good in that you wouldn't normally think of that but they are pretty great people.
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MasonM
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Reply #11 June 10, 2005 10:03:50 PM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
The interesting thing about this is that you can interpret it anyway you want. Mason's answer is very good in that you wouldn't normally think of that but they are pretty great people.


In that case I revert to my original answer.
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drmiler
Join Date 09/2004
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Reply #12 June 11, 2005 1:35:07 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
In his best Elvis impersonation he says "Thank you, Thank you very much".
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ParaTed2k
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Reply #13 June 11, 2005 5:00:41 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
In the same lines as MasonM, I'd have to say:

The greatest American is anyone in America who does their best at work, puts their loved ones first in their lives, and does what they can to be better today than they were yesterday. In other words, the greatest American would be one who does what he or she can to make America great. The best way to make America great, is to be a great person (who happens to be an American).
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drmiler
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Reply #14 June 11, 2005 8:25:51 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums

#15 by Justice For Jews
Saturday, June 11, 2005





My vote goes to Winstone Churchil.


And you my friend should learn to spell. It's "Winston Churchill".
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Death_By_Beebles
Join Date 04/2004
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Reply #15 June 11, 2005 8:38:52 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Emerson, Walton, Thoreau, or Warhol ring any bells? Perhaps Sousa or Armstrong (That's Louis, by the way) fits you better. Steinbeck, perhaps? Maybe Dickinson? How about Poe? Frank Llyod Wright?

Any way you look at it, politicians and business men aren't the only people who have influenced American thought and culture. It's disgusting that all these writers, artists, and musicians never made the list.
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Moderateman
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Reply #16 June 11, 2005 8:51:20 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
silly me I thought this was about people on joe user... 0h well put that down to flufogged brain.


Great americans: The immagrants that built america, while becomming citizens and learning english while raising huge families.
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MasonM
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Reply #17 June 11, 2005 9:55:02 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
I wondered how long it would take for someone to realize Churchill was a Brit, not an American.
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Reply #18 June 11, 2005 9:59:38 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
#21 by MasonM
Saturday, June 11, 2005


wondered how long it would take for someone to realize Churchill was a Brit, not an American.


jfj is an imposter mason, I refuse to even "play" its game, that is why I did not correct it.
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Reply #19 June 11, 2005 10:27:55 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Poe wrote some nicely creepy stories, and Warhol introduced us to soup cans as art, but did they improve day to day life for millions of people in doing so,or merely provide us with the momentary pleasure of entertainment?


So you would pick Oprah and Dr. Phil over Warhol and Poe?

I'm not saying that these people need to be in the top 10, or even the top 100, but when the top 100 americans include Dr. Phil and Oprah and don't include people like Thoreau or Emerson, you've got the silent degradation of the American culture in pure sight.
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bakerstreet
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Reply #20 June 11, 2005 10:55:10 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
"wondered how long it would take for someone to realize Churchill was a Brit, not an American."


I wasn't going to be nit-picky, but neither is Steven Hawking or Paul McCartney


"Poe wrote some nicely creepy stories, and Warhol introduced us to soup cans as art, but did they improve day to day life for millions of people in doing so,or merely provide us with the momentary pleasure of entertainment?"


There's my problem, really. What do you mean by 'greatest'? Is it tangible results? It is protecting our existance, is it accomplishment? Is it moral superiority?

For instance Henry Ford made a huge impact, but he was also a die-hard anti-semite. Does that remove him from being 'great'? Washington was a 'great' man, but, honestly, I don't consider him to be one of the greatest Americans, frankly.

I think unless we pin down what makes someone 'great', a list like this is impossible. Granted, with the loosest definition of 'great' the Discovery channel list is still idiotic...
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Reply #21 June 11, 2005 11:05:55 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Poe, for instance, basically invented the detective story. Now that may seem trivial, but how much money has been spent on such in the US since he died? How many people were employed writing, printing, and selling detective stories? How many people were influenced by Poe, and in turn wrote their own books and stories that employed all those same people?

It isn't so easy to write people like that off, really. Harriet Beecher Stowe was just a writer, too. Hell, for that matter, Jefferson wasn't much more than a writer.
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Gideon MacLeish
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Reply #22 June 11, 2005 11:13:31 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Thomas Paine
Patrick Henry
Benjamin Franklin
Alexander Graham Bell
Henry David Thoreau
Martin Luther King
Thomas Edison
The Wright Brothers
Franklin Roosevelt
Bill Gates (time will vindicate me on this choice)
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Reply #23 June 11, 2005 11:17:35 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Ouch, Gates and no Lincoln? The US would exist without Gates, the reverse is very debateable. I *might* be able to fit Gates into a top 100, but there'd be no room in the top 50 for him.
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MasonM
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Reply #24 June 11, 2005 11:34:50 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Gates? A liar, a cheat, and a thief who never had an original idea in his life. I guess if one wants to put corporate criminals on a pedestal, then yeah he would have to be at the top.

Ooooh, the shame!
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Gideon MacLeish
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Reply #25 June 11, 2005 11:39:16 AM
from JoeUser ForumsJoeUser Forums
Ouch, Gates and no Lincoln? The US would exist without Gates, the reverse is very debateable.


You and I disagree a great deal on Lincoln's legacy, Baker. Yes, he preserved the union. But I'm not sure that it couldn't have been preserved WITHOUT destroying the Constitution. Lincoln's record on the constitution, while arguably necessary for the time, set a HORRIBLE precedent that future presidents followed with lesser justification.

I did try to weigh the good and the bad somewhat, though, which is why I included Gates. I remember the world before DOS, and it was a world in which we had to write our own programs, which for the majority of us were slow and/or inefficient, and in which internet communication on the level we know it would be virtually impossible due to incompatibility of operating systems. Many software companies changed that, but Microsoft, despite its shady tactics, remains the most notable. I stand by my choice.
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