Top 100 Americans

[Hiro]

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/greatestamerican/top100/top100.html

I feel there is something really wrong with our society when half of those people, if not more, don't deserve to even be nominated.

Anyone else watch this?

[chadlnc]

Wow, I'm just not sure what to say. I'm at a loss for words about so many of those.

[IrishSS]

Not only is the list terribly sad (Madonna? Cmon...), but the fact that we as a society feel the need to rank the top 100 Greatest Americans is pathetic. Yes, I believe there are some Americans who show their pride, dignity and selflessness in serving their country more than others, but to rank them is disrespectful to so many other people who fit the bill... I can think of what, 400,000 or so American servicemen/women who are more "Great American" than Ellen Degenres or Dr. Phil. :disa:

[RIVERWIDOW]

Okay I have serious reservations about some of the names on this list:
Tom Cruise,Michael Jackson,Michael Jordan,Dr. Phil, Michael Moore and Tiger Woods. Did any of these people find a cure for cancer, or a way to prevent world hunger? You get my drift. These aren't important people. They are celebrities. There is a huge difference. Some of the names are legit but alot are a joke. I would love to know who comes up with these names. :puke:

[Mike_N_Ike]

I think that if the renamed the chart "most influential" people - it'd be a little bit more accurate.

[Jenny]

:stupid: I agree with everyone in here. It's ridiculous some of the names. :(

[ray]

i am the greatest american that ever lived. that list is wrong. i am right. i am ray.

[Thesifer]

Hefner, Hugh :spock:

[molecularfire]

Okay I have serious reservations about some of the names on this list:
Tom Cruise,Michael Jackson,Michael Jordan,Dr. Phil, Michael Moore and Tiger Woods. Did any of these people find a cure for cancer, or a way to prevent world hunger? You get my drift. These aren't important people. They are celebrities. There is a huge difference. Some of the names are legit but alot are a joke. I would love to know who comes up with these names. :puke:
I agree with you but in the defense of the people on the list, nobody has found a cure for cancer (impossible because IMO it isn't even a disease) or a way to prevent world hunger. :)

[eSDee]

Some of those people I would consider the worst Americans ever. I would expect more from Discovery.

[Bires]

i am the greatest american that ever lived. that list is wrong. i am right. i am ray.

Hard to argue. ;)

Discovery has gone way downhill lately. (Unless you're a chopper fan)

[ray]

Hard to argue. ;)
(Unless you're a chopper fan)

I'm not a chopper fan, but i'm a Clippers fan...

[Thesifer]

I like the History Channel.. I think it has a lot of great stuff on it

[Agent Plissken]

George Lucas???? He should be exiled!
Jackson???? A CHILD MOLESTOR!
Who made this list?

[Jeffbx]

I agree, that's a really stupid choice of people. If I were to make a list of who I considered to be the 100 most important Americans, I would have quite a bit of a stricter grading scale:

- Probably no sports figures - athletic ability doesn't make a great person.
- Probably no entertainers - other people usually put them in the position they're in, they don't always get there by themselves.
- Probably no one alive today would make the list. Sometimes it takes a long time for genius to be recognized, and very often someone who's on top of the heap today will be forgotten in ten years.
- There would be more artists, writers & scientists on my list
- A few politicians may make it, but they have to be good leaders, not good politicians

[cheapie]

exactly. john edwards??? i'm not questioning it because of his politics, just because he's a relative newcomer to the political arena and was an effing personal injury lawyer.

maybe they're some of the most interesting..but certainly not the greatest.


and why are 4/6 of the "B" spots taken up by the Bush family? "rolleyes:

[SolidSnake]

Chavez, Cesar?

Is he even american?

[Butch]

exactly. john edwards??? i'm not questioning it because of his politics, just because he's a relative newcomer to the political arena and was an effing personal injury lawyer.

maybe they're some of the most interesting..but certainly not the greatest.


and why are 4/6 of the "B" spots taken up by the Bush family? "rolleyes:

No no . . . it's not John Edwards the former Vice Presidential candidate . . . it's the John Edward who talks to dead people (they just accidentally added an extra "s") . . . sheesh . . . clearly HE should be on the list! :gle:

[RIVERWIDOW]

I agree, that's a really stupid choice of people. If I were to make a list of who I considered to be the 100 most important Americans, I would have quite a bit of a stricter grading scale:

- Probably no sports figures - athletic ability doesn't make a great person.
- Probably no entertainers - other people usually put them in the position they're in, they don't always get there by themselves.
- Probably no one alive today would make the list. Sometimes it takes a long time for genius to be recognized, and very often someone who's on top of the heap today will be forgotten in ten years.
- There would be more artists, writers & scientists on my list
- A few politicians may make it, but they have to be good leaders, not good politicians

I don't think you can eliminate all sports figures and entertainers out of hand. Look at Danny Thomas and Jerry Lewis. Surely they deserve to be on the list.
And I know there are sports figures whio donate tons of money and time to good causes. I just don't think the ones on the list are the "A" people.

[eSDee]

Chavez, Cesar?

Is he even american?

Don't ask stupid questions.

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/chavez

[SolidSnake]

lol wrong cesar chavez :P sorry i feel stupid now

[cheapie]

Don't ask stupid questions.

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/chavez

it's not a stupid question for those of us that have never heard of him. after looking him up, i'm impressed with his work. did he ever gain us citizenship?

[eSDee]

He was born here in the U.S. so yeah. I didn't mean for it to sound so mean I apologize. Cesar Chavez is arguably the biggest hero for Hispanics in the U.S. I think SolidSnake is from Southern California, which is why I found it surprising that he didn't know who Cesar Chavez was.

[YanksFanRy]

Well, what defines greatness?
I agree, Madonna and others is a little silly... but she did have a huge influence on many girls, as well as on the music industry. I wouldn't hesitate to call her music related accomplishments great in what she does. But is that truly GREAT? I don't know.

Just a thought...

[cheapie]

He was born here in the U.S. so yeah. I didn't mean for it to sound so mean I apologize. Cesar Chavez is arguably the biggest hero for Hispanics in the U.S. I think SolidSnake is from Southern California, which is why I found it surprising that he didn't know who Cesar Chavez was.


my bad. i read this quickly and didn't see the part about his g'pa crossing and his grandson being Cesar.


One night in the 1880's, a man named Cesario Chavez crossed the border from Chihuahua, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas. He was fleeing the hardships of his homeland to make a better life in the United States for his family. Decades later, his grandson, Cesar Chavez, would make a stand in the fields of California to fight for a better life for all farm workers.

[Jeffbx]

I don't think you can eliminate all sports figures and entertainers out of hand. Look at Danny Thomas and Jerry Lewis. Surely they deserve to be on the list.
And I know there are sports figures whio donate tons of money and time to good causes. I just don't think the ones on the list are the "A" people.


True, true - that's why I said 'probably'. There are some people who make some great contributions above & beyond what they're best known for, like Jerry Lewis & Bill Gates. But I certainly don't think someone like, say, Tiger Woods deserves the title of one of the 'greatest Americans'. I mean, what the H did he ever do besides play a mean round of golf? Athletic ability ≠ greatness.

Here's a good test - if that person had never been born, or had never realized their true calling, how would the US be impacted? Let's say Albert Einstein or Martin Luther King Jr. were never born - big impact on the US. Now let's say Tiger Woods or Mel Gibson were never born. Would the world be any different than it is today? Doubt it.