Greatest American List
I normally don’t pay much attention to the endless cycle of list shows that have been cropping up on television lately, but I saw a promo for the Greatest American list on the Discovery Channel last night that practically knocked me out of my chair. I don’t care what your opinon of these men might be, neither George W. Bush nor Bill Clinton has earned the right to be considered one of the top 25 Americans of all time.
Frankly, there are many questionable entries in this top 25 list. Lance Armstrong? The guy rides a bike extremely well, had cancer and does sponsorship ads for Subaru; how does this qualify him to be the Greatest American? Elvis Presley? The guy was a great entertainer who loved drugs, booze and shooting his TV; exactly how is he qualified to be considered the Greatest American? Oprah Winfrey hosts a fucking talk show, for crissakes!
As far as Clinton and Bush go, just being a two-term president is not qualification enough. I also include Ronald Reagan in this statement, despite the amazing amount of love for the man that has only grown since his passing. All of these guys have made ethically/morally questionable deals in the past and are not known for keeping their noses clean in office. All have been accused of lying to the American people (Sex scandals, Wars and illegal arms deals) and all are guilty, IMO, of deepening the distrust of the people in their elected officials. Regardless of the positive notes of their presidencies, the problems I mention are enough to remove them from the rarefied company of people like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In fact, as far as I’m concerned no president since FDR should be even considered as a Greatest American because of the sheer amount of personal compromise and backdoor dealing that must occur in order to claim the highest seat in “public service”.
Why are there actors and directors on this list? Why sports stars? Why talk show hosts, radio or television? Has the cult of celebrity truly gone so far as to brainwash people into thinking that the aforementioned professional entertainers are truly great Americans?
Even discounting my objections in the paragraph above, I don’t understand how some of these folks made it to the top 25 over other choices in the top 100 (I won’t get into how many of the “top 100″ are poor representatives of great Americans). Frederick Douglass risked his own freedom to help start the civil rights movement in this country and supported the Underground Railroad, but isn’t in the top 25? Pat Tillman’s brave choice and terrible sacrifice for this country didn’t earn him a spot in the top 25, but Muhammed Ali makes it to the final round? Jonas Salk helped to eradicate Polio, but apparently that’s not as important as hosting interviews with morons on afternoon TV. Alexander Hamilton fought at Valley Forge during the American Revolution, helped write the Federalist Papers and helped ratify the Constitution, but he lost his spot on the top 25 to make room for a drug-addled crooner.
My mind, it boggles.
