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The 20 Greatest Americans

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  • bootlegger10bootlegger10 Posts: 16,060
    Byrnzie wrote:
    Off the top of my head, and in no particular order:

    Henry Miller - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Miller
    Allen Ginsberg - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Ginsberg
    Jack Kerouac - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerouac
    William S Burroughs - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S_Burroughs
    Mark Twain - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_twain
    Thoreau - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoreau
    Whitman - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_whitman
    Chomsky - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chomsky
    Hunter S Thompson - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S_Thompson
    Mohammed Ali - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Ali
    Jack Johnston - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_%28boxer%29
    Bob Dylan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan
    Thomas Jefferson - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson%2C_Thomas
    Robert Johnson - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson_%28musician%29
    Eddie Vedder - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Vedder
    Charles Bukowski - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bukowski
    Robert Kennedy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kennedy
    Bill Hicks - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hicks
    Malcolm X - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X
    Jonhhy Cash - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Cash

    You chose Malcom X over Martin Luther King, Jr.?
  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Seattle, WA Posts: 12,223
    I would have put Stokely Carmichael above either. :cool:
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    cool thread. list isnt bad either. :high five:
  • jlew24asujlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    bootlegger10 wrote:
    You chose Malcom X over Martin Luther King, Jr.?

    good point. malcom was a hateful man
  • bootlegger10bootlegger10 Posts: 16,060
    jlew24asu wrote:
    good point. malcom was a hateful man

    Yeah, the fighting racism by being a racist kinda guy.
  • godpt3godpt3 Posts: 1,020
    was that supposed to be comical?

    Burroughs, Kerouac, Bill Hicks??? C'mon, are you stoned or stupid??? If that's your idea of great Americans, then we, as a nation, are not only royally screwed but we also deserve to be screwed.
    "If all those sweet, young things were laid end to end, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised."
    —Dorothy Parker

    http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/6902/conspiracytheoriesxt6qt8.jpg
  • Alex_CoeAlex_Coe Posts: 762
    Why does Jack Johnson get on the list but not George Washington or Franklin D. Rooselvelt? Oh, nice, he was a boxer. Woop-de-doo. If I punched people in the face for money, would you put me on the list too?
  • godpt3godpt3 Posts: 1,020
    Alex_Coe wrote:
    Why does Jack Johnson get on the list but not George Washington or Franklin D. Rooselvelt? Oh, nice, he was a boxer. Woop-de-doo. If I punched people in the face for money, would you put me on the list too?

    Don't forget, he invented an adjustable wrench, too. LOL. A modern-day George Washington Carver, for sure. :D
    "If all those sweet, young things were laid end to end, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised."
    —Dorothy Parker

    http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/6902/conspiracytheoriesxt6qt8.jpg
  • MLC2006MLC2006 Posts: 861
    if you're going to stoop to such douche levels as putting musicians on above founding fathers, wouldn't you at least put Hendrix or Van Halen on there?

    and yeah, I'd put Martin over Malcolm.

    and if we're talking about race, how about Branch Rickey? he brought in the first black player (Jackie Robinson) and the first Latino player (Roberto Clemente).

    oh yeah, I'm putting Timberlake on that list. he's got his own HBO show coming up AND he fucked Brittney Spears when she was hot.
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    Alex_Coe wrote:
    Why does Jack Johnson get on the list but not George Washington or Franklin D. Rooselvelt? Oh, nice, he was a boxer. Woop-de-doo. If I punched people in the face for money, would you put me on the list too?

    He was more than just a boxer. You should check out the Ken Burns documentary on him.
    He was the first black american heavyweight. He fought years of prejudice and mistreatment from the authorities. He was one of the first and the biggest symbols of black freedom and independence in America. He was the Mohammed Ali of his age, and Ali himself was greatly influenced by him with regards to his political ideas, his braggadocio ways, his pride in his race, e.t.c.
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    godpt3 wrote:
    was that supposed to be comical?

    Burroughs, Kerouac, Bill Hicks??? C'mon, are you stoned or stupid??? If that's your idea of great Americans, then we, as a nation, are not only royally screwed but we also deserve to be screwed.

    All three were representative of that facet of America which deserves to be celebrated above all others - a search for freedom, and an idea that we can evolve as human beings. America was founded as a break from the old world. These characters have all contributed brilliantly to taking that idea a step further.
  • Purple HawkPurple Hawk Posts: 1,300
    Byrnzie wrote:
    Off the top of my head, and in no particular order:

    Henry Miller - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Miller
    Allen Ginsberg - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Ginsberg
    Jack Kerouac - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerouac
    William S Burroughs - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_S_Burroughs
    Mark Twain - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_twain
    Thoreau - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoreau
    Whitman - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_whitman
    Chomsky - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chomsky
    Hunter S Thompson - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S_Thompson
    Mohammed Ali - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Ali
    Jack Johnston - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_%28boxer%29
    Bob Dylan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan
    Thomas Jefferson - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson%2C_Thomas
    Robert Johnson - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson_%28musician%29
    Eddie Vedder - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Vedder
    Charles Bukowski - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bukowski
    Robert Kennedy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kennedy
    Bill Hicks - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hicks
    Malcolm X - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X
    Jonhhy Cash - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Cash

    Noam Chomsky? are you serious? obviously you are...which is funny in and of itself. by the way, where's Rush Limbaugh? people actually heard of him!

    instead of the top "Americans" maybe you should rename the thread "the top 18 modern liberals with a few token nastolgic names tossed in of all time."
    And you ask me what I want this year
    And I try to make this kind and clear
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
    Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
    And desire and love and empty things
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
  • godpt3godpt3 Posts: 1,020
    Byrnzie wrote:
    He fought years of prejudice and mistreatment from the authorities. He was one of the first and the biggest symbols of black freedom and independence in America.

    Rosa Parks?
    "If all those sweet, young things were laid end to end, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised."
    —Dorothy Parker

    http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/6902/conspiracytheoriesxt6qt8.jpg
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    MLC2006 wrote:
    if you're going to stoop to such douche levels as putting musicians on above founding fathers, wouldn't you at least put Hendrix or Van Halen on there?

    I've always placed artists on a footing above politicians and other businessmen.
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    jlew24asu wrote:
    good point. malcom was a hateful man

    I disagree. He wasn't hateful. He was rational. He saw the 'turn the other cheek in the face of violence and oppression' as preached by MLK for what it was - stupid, and unpractical.
  • Purple HawkPurple Hawk Posts: 1,300
    Byrnzie wrote:
    I disagree. He wasn't hateful. He was rational. He saw the 'turn the other cheek in the face of violence and oppression' as preached by MLK for what it was - stupid, and unpractical.

    i think it's convenient you list TJ instead of alexander hamilton, a big government elitist, as one of your top 20....if you weren't obsessed with diversity, you'd replace TJ with Hamilton.
    And you ask me what I want this year
    And I try to make this kind and clear
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
    Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
    And desire and love and empty things
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    Purple Hawk wrote:
    Noam Chomsky? are you serious? obviously you are...which is funny in and of itself. by the way, where's Rush Limbaugh? people actually heard of him!

    instead of the top "Americans" maybe you should rename the thread "the top 18 modern liberals with a few token nastolgic names tossed in of all time."

    I was hoping people would create their own lists. How about giving us yours?
  • AbookamongstthemanyAbookamongstthemany Posts: 8,209
    Cool list, Byrnzie. :) Apparently some people here think your views are supposed to reflect their own. Maybe they'll learn to grasp the concept of differing perspectives one of these days.
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    Purple Hawk wrote:
    instead of the top "Americans" maybe you should rename the thread "the top 18 modern liberals with a few token nastolgic names tossed in of all time."

    I don't regard any of these people as 'liberals'. In fact, I don't even know what the word means. I would say 'rebels' may be a more appropriate description.
  • MLC2006MLC2006 Posts: 861
    Byrnzie wrote:
    I've always placed artists on a footing above politicians and other businessmen.

    ok, if politicians are left out, here's some names that should've been on the list:

    Leo Fender/Les Paul
    Robert Johnson
    Hank Williams
    Jimi Hendrix
    Johnnie Cash
    Babe Ruth
    Howard Stern
    Michael Jordan
    Steven Spielberg
    George Lucas
    Madonna
    Michael Jackson
    Lenny Bruce
    Henry Ford
    Alexander Graham Bell

    oops, you had a few of those people on there.

    if we're putting politicians and dignitaries in, Washington, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, FDR, MLK, Douglass, hell, probably even Lincoln. and possibly even Jefferson Davis as he played a huge part in the shaping of this country. I would not have personally put Robert Kennedy on the list.
  • Purple HawkPurple Hawk Posts: 1,300
    Byrnzie wrote:
    I was hoping people would create their own lists. How about giving us yours?

    Of the top of my head...

    you have your daniel morgans, your john paul joneses, your teddy rosevelts, your andrew jacksons, your pat tillmans, your ronald reagans, your chuck norrises...your rush limbaughs and sean hannity's....


    seriously...eddie vedder and noam chomsky in your all time top 20 americans? who would actually take that seriously?
    And you ask me what I want this year
    And I try to make this kind and clear
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
    Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
    And desire and love and empty things
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
  • Purple HawkPurple Hawk Posts: 1,300
    Abookamongstthemany wrote:
    Cool list, Byrnzie. :) Apparently some people here think your views are supposed to reflect their own. Maybe they'll learn to grasp the concept of differing perspectives one of these days.

    once we agree with you, right? couldn't possibly be the other way around? till that day, we hare hatemongers :) damn straight...i LOOOOOOVE war and hate. :D
    And you ask me what I want this year
    And I try to make this kind and clear
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
    Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
    And desire and love and empty things
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
  • RolandTD20KdrummerRolandTD20Kdrummer Posts: 13,066
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Hendrix
    Progress is not made by everyone joining some new fad,
    and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
    over specific principles, goals, and policies.

    http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg

    (\__/)
    ( o.O)
    (")_(")
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    Purple Hawk wrote:
    Of the top of my head...

    you have your daniel morgans, your john paul joneses, your teddy rosevelts, your andrew jacksons, your pat tillmans, your ronald reagans, your chuck norrises...your rush limbaughs and sean hannity's....


    seriously...eddie vedder and noam chomsky in your all time top 20 americans? who would actually take that seriously?

    You laugh at me for including Eddie Vedder - despite all the good he's done in the world above and beyond his actual music - and yet you think that Chuck Norris, and Ronald Reagan should be on the list?
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    Purple Hawk wrote:
    once we agree with you, right? couldn't possibly be the other way around? till that day, we hare hatemongers :) damn straight...i LOOOOOOVE war and hate. :D

    All I'll say is, that if you had a party and invited your top 20, and I had a party where my top 20 were all present - I wonder who'd have the better time? ;)
  • MLC2006MLC2006 Posts: 861
    Byrnzie wrote:
    You laugh at me for including Eddie Vedder - despite all the good he's done in the world above and beyond his actual music - and yet you think that Chuck Norris, and Ronald Reagan should be on the list?

    actually, it would be a foregone conclusion of any sane person that Chuck Norris is automatically at the TOP of the list. you don't even have to type his name for us to know that he is above all others.
  • Purple HawkPurple Hawk Posts: 1,300
    Byrnzie wrote:
    You laugh at me for including Eddie Vedder - despite all the good he's done in the world above and beyond his actual music - and yet you think that Chuck Norris, and Ronald Reagan should be on the list?

    1. you obviously don't have a sense of humor.

    2. you really think eddie vedder is a greater american than ronald reagan? if it weren't for the latter, the last bastion of conservatism would be gone...he was single handedly responsible for a political realignment and the rebirth of conservative values...

    but yeah...eddie vedder really cares about stuff...what an intellectual
    And you ask me what I want this year
    And I try to make this kind and clear
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
    Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
    And desire and love and empty things
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
  • AbookamongstthemanyAbookamongstthemany Posts: 8,209
    Purple Hawk wrote:
    once we agree with you, right? couldn't possibly be the other way around? till that day, we hare hatemongers :) damn straight...i LOOOOOOVE war and hate. :D

    Nope. That's exact the opposite of what I'm saying. Byrnzie's list is his own...it might be helpful if you at least say why you don't agree about the people he listed or list your own. But just saying how they aren't your idea greatness is pointless because it wasn't your list. If you add why you disagree and then list some people yourself we might could have a civil discussion. Imagine that.
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    MLC2006 wrote:
    ok, if politicians are left out, here's some names that should've been on the list:

    Leo Fender/Les Paul
    Robert Johnson
    Hank Williams
    Jimi Hendrix
    Johnnie Cash
    Babe Ruth
    Howard Stern
    Michael Jordan
    Steven Spielberg
    George Lucas
    Madonna
    Michael Jackson
    Lenny Bruce
    Henry Ford
    Alexander Graham Bell

    oops, you had a few of those people on there.

    if we're putting politicians and dignitaries in, Washington, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, FDR, MLK, Douglass, hell, probably even Lincoln. and possibly even Jefferson Davis as he played a huge part in the shaping of this country. I would not have personally put Robert Kennedy on the list.

    Hank Williams, Lenny Bruce, Hendrix - yes. Michael Jackson, Madonna? Nooooo!

    Michael Jackson is the Carl Lewis to Jimi Hendrix's Muhammed Ali.
  • Purple HawkPurple Hawk Posts: 1,300
    Byrnzie wrote:
    All I'll say is, that if you had a party and invited your top 20, and I had a party where my top 20 were all present - I wonder who'd have the better time? ;)

    i would guess my party would...since we are optomistic, and hopefull, and aren't revelled in guilt, and are not seeking to cover that guilt


    :)
    And you ask me what I want this year
    And I try to make this kind and clear
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
    Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
    And desire and love and empty things
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
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