The Conservative Son

I have been keeping up with the "Greatest American" on the Discovery Channel. It's mostly interesting, but sometimes, sadly reflective of the ignorance of our government educated citizenry. I think Elvis and Walt Disney were cool, but they should not be listed among the top twenty-five greatest Americans. (Oprah and Ali definitely don't belong.)

My easy choice for the single greatest American ever is George Washington. Without him, we wouldn't have a country in which to debate who the greatest of us is.

I was very pleased to see those who made it to the top five. The list we have now is arguably inclusive of the greatest of our citizens. They include, in no particular order:

1. Dr. Martin Luther King
2. President Ronald Reagan
3. President Abraham Lincoln
4. Benjamin Franklin
5. President/General George Washington.

All of these affected our country in ways that are immeasurable and, as time goes by, becomes more recognizable and, hopefully, more appreciated. (By the way, George W. Bush pulled in a tight sixth place.)

The contributions of all these Americans should easily overwhelm, in so far as our honoring them is concerned , their vices. They all were men of imperfection who rose to the tasks presented them and moved, or formed, this nation in ways in which we could never fully repay them, except, perchance, to live our lives as honorably as we can.

I must say, though, that I was shocked to hear the derogatory remarks made about some against the candidates on the show. One young black man stood up and remarked that Washington couldn't qualify for greatness because he was a slave owner. So, perhaps at least half of our founding fathers are disqualified from being called "great" because of that reason? Perhaps they should be disqualified simply because they didn't believe in universal suffrage. They felt that only land-owning, white males over the age of twenty-one should have the vote. (Incidentally, I don't believe in universal suffrage myself.)

Perhaps people would like to disqualify Dr. King because of alleged Marxist ties and rumored infidelity. Lincoln was against things like interracial marriage and he was for segregation, so, I suppose that disqualifies him. Franklin was renowned as a bit of a party animal, so to speak, and even liked the French! Should that disqualify him? Should Reagan be written off for Iran-country even though he is the single most salient person responsible for the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. I don't think you could write off these men's contribution to our freedoms for any personal shortcomings that may have plagued them.

Well, anyway, it's just a t.v. show and doesn't amount to anything much. I do find it interesting to hear the opinions of those involved with the show and their reasons for supporting the various candidates. You actually can even pick up a little history by watching. Still, all it really proves is that many people will vote on just about anything between American Idol seasons.

Labels: Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan