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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Liberator on June 23, 2005, 09:02:13 pm

Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Liberator on June 23, 2005, 09:02:13 pm
I caught the end of this on Discovery just now and thought I'd ask:

Ignoring Politics, Personality or anything subjective, who is the Greatest American?

To me, Ben Franklin, the little incident with the kite aside, he was perhaps the wisest man of the modern era.
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Carl on June 23, 2005, 09:19:02 pm
that and he wuz a playa
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Deepblue on June 23, 2005, 09:25:12 pm
Um, how about George Washington? Kinda hard to try to give the title to anyone else...
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Rictor on June 23, 2005, 09:26:40 pm
It's hard to decide. I have plenty of respect for the Founding Fathers, among the most enlightened statemen hat humanity has ever produced. It would have to be one of them, though the true credit can't go to any one man, I would probably go with Thomas Jefferson.
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Solatar on June 23, 2005, 09:28:18 pm
George Washington, he advised us all not to start political parties.

Of course nobody listens to the achievements of great people, they just glorify them.
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: phreak on June 23, 2005, 09:28:47 pm
*wonders how the hell Bash and Clumpton made the top 25,  its too soon for history to judge what they've done*
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: MatthewPapa on June 23, 2005, 09:29:35 pm
Best native: Thomas Jefferson
Best Immigrant: Albert Einstein
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Ghostavo on June 23, 2005, 09:37:22 pm
The Greatest American: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=48383

either him or...

Henry Ford
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Ford Prefect on June 23, 2005, 09:41:34 pm
Mark Twain.

(http://www.fws.gov/midwest/marktwain/mark_twain.jpg)

Come on. How could he not be?
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Unknown Target on June 23, 2005, 10:10:45 pm
Ben Franklin, George Washington, or Frankiln D. Roosevelt would be my choices.
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Bobboau on June 23, 2005, 10:23:30 pm
MEEeeee!!!!!
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Ghost on June 23, 2005, 10:33:41 pm
Bob- you're the greatest American modeller. Different.

FDR is probably way high up on my list... but I'd have to say Chesty Puller. If you don't know who he is, shoot yourself. Or look him up.
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Liberator on June 23, 2005, 10:39:53 pm
Puller was the archetypical Marine...while admirable, that alone doesn't qualify him as the Greastest American.
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Bobboau on June 23, 2005, 10:40:57 pm
hey, who was the winner on the TV show?
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Ghost on June 23, 2005, 10:51:08 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Liberator
Puller was the archetypical Marine...while admirable, that alone doesn't qualify him as the Greastest American.


He was a supreme badass and he knew what to do. I sure as **** would've voted him President.
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: achtung on June 23, 2005, 11:13:53 pm
Theodore Roosevelt.  He was the first president I know of that paid attention to the environment by introducing conservationism, and I mean come on he was a Rough Ryder.  He came up with one of my favorite quotes "Walk lightly and carry a big stick", and he was a major fighter in busting up trusts in an attempt to bring corporations under control of the people.
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: EtherShock on June 23, 2005, 11:23:38 pm
Actually, it was, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." but the message is still the same. He's the closest we've ever had to an Independent, definitely a great American.
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: WMCoolmon on June 23, 2005, 11:54:44 pm
Reading about Teddy Roosevelt was entertaining. He also had that steam-powered robot dude with him. ;)

William Henry Harrison, on the other hand, did quite a bit, considering his time in office. :p

I think I'll go with Ben Franklin though.
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Mefustae on June 23, 2005, 11:55:24 pm
The greatest Native American; Sitting Pretty (Sitting Bull's gay brother) :lol:
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: achtung on June 24, 2005, 12:21:43 am
Quote
Originally posted by Mefustae
The greatest Native American; Sitting Pretty (Sitting Bull's gay brother) :lol:

:wtf:
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: redmenace on June 24, 2005, 12:46:41 am
"I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and Philosophy."

-John Adams in a letter to his wife, dated 1780
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: aldo_14 on June 24, 2005, 05:07:19 am
The first name that came to my mind was Martin Luther King.

Then again, I don't know much of US political history.  Assuming 'American' means United States of America-an.
Title: The Greatest American
Post by: Swamp_Thing on June 24, 2005, 07:23:32 am
Jim Morrison.