Vote for someone other than Walt Disney

Wilt Dasney

Wilt Dasney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just having a little fun here.

Since there is a concerted campaign to net as many votes for Walt as possible in the 100 Greatest Americans competition, this is my counter-campaign.

As much as I love Walt, there's no way I can consider him the greatest American who ever lived. I'll be voting Ben Franklin when the polls open in June.

Any other heretics who won't be voting Walt? Huddle up here. :D
 
Wilt Dasney

Wilt Dasney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
LoisMustDie said:
Why?
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He made movies and started theme parks. Great guy, but that doesn't quite compare with some of the other folks dotting the annals of this country.

One guy's opinion...
 
Shaman

Shaman

Well-Known Member
Wilt Dasney said:
Just having a little fun here.

Since there is a concerted campaign to net as many votes for Walt as possible in the 100 Greatest Americans competition, this is my counter-campaign.

As much as I love Walt, there's no way I can consider him the greatest American who ever lived. I'll be voting Ben Franklin when the polls open in June.

Any other heretics who won't be voting Walt? Huddle up here. :D
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Me. I'm a fan of Disney and Walt etc...but greatest American...uh..no.

My votes and reasons:

George Washington - could have become a king, a dictator, with the backing of the military, instead when his term was up...he followed the rules...set precedent and ensured stability for the young country (not to mention the Revolutionary War stuff).
Thomas Jefferson - For his contribution to the foundation of this country. And expanding it (Louisiana Purchase).
Abraham Lincoln- HELLO! Kept the states UNITED! Among OTHER honorable things (like abolishing a little thing called salvery)
Franklin D. Roosevelt - Depression, WWII, served more than two terms as president...etc..
Martin Luther King Jr. - For extraordinary contribution to the civil rights movement.
John F. Kennedy - Confronting the USSR (and keeping America safe) without a nuclear WAR ensuing (a little thing call the Cuban Missile Crisis)..everyone said, strike them go to war, and he said NO...

And I can go on and on....

Walt doesn't come close sorry...maybe he would be the first entertainment related person...

There are some rediculous names on that list...JOHN EDWARDS?! RUSH LIMBAUGH? ?!?!?!??!?

Just my opinion though.
 
MKCP 1985

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
Thomas Jefferson, maybe? Do they have to be BORN in the U.S.A.? If so, most all our founding fathers will be disqualified.

If the boards are cleared of those eighteenth century patriots, Walt is pretty high on my personal list of deserving nominees. I think it is an oversimplification to say he was a great guy who made movies and started theme parks.

In reality, he was a great American. He performed military service before he was legally old enough to do so, and when World War II came, he used his studio's resources to fully support the country's efforts.

Although he had a talent as an animator, he was never satisfied simply making cartoons, or movies. He used the funds generated from those ventures in an attempt to follow his dreams for a better country - his original EPCOT. He did not purchase all that Florida land to create multiple theme parks - he wanted a functional city integrating the best of technology in commerce, transportation, education, recreation and residential living.

He was not a scientist, but with the money from his studio, he funded research into the sciences.

I may not vote at all. How can one person be the greatest, when there are so many who have done so much? But I wouldn't lightly regard his worthiness, either.
 
E

Erika

Moderator
I'm with ya, BJ. I haven't stopped to think about who I would vote for but it would not be Walt Disney. One of my favorite Americans, YES! But not the greatest.
 
Wilt Dasney

Wilt Dasney

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
MKCP 1985 said:
Thomas Jefferson, maybe? Do they have to be BORN in the U.S.A.? If so, most all our founding fathers will be disqualified.
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Preliminary voting has already winnowed the field to 100, and the founders are there, so they're eligible, at least by the rules of this competition.

(Of course, Brett Favre also made the cut, so I'm not sure I would uphold this competition as too exemplary.)

If the boards are cleared of those eighteenth century patriots, Walt is pretty high on my personal list of deserving nominees. I think it is an oversimplification to say he was a great guy who made movies and started theme parks.
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Fair enough. I'll accede that there's more to his legacy (his innovations in the entertainment field not the least among them).

I would also say that if the field were limited to 20th-century Americans, Walt's stock would rise highly in my eyes.
 
Woody13

Woody13

New Member
MKCP 1985 said:
In reality, he was a great American. He performed military service before he was legally old enough to do so, and when World War II came, he used his studio's resources to fully support the country's efforts.
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Walt did not join the military during WWI. His older brother Roy joined the army during WWI. Walt was very close to his brother and wanted to follow him, but Walt was too young. He ended up joining the American Ambulance Corps, part of the Red Cross. By the time Walt got to France, the Armistice had been signed (November 11, 1918) and the war was over. He (and the others) became peacetime chauffeurs. All he wanted to do was return home! Walt never served one day in the military.

As for his cooperation during WWII, he had no choice but to cooperate to wit:

"When Pearl Harbor was bombed and the United States was drawn into the Second World War, the nation was in a state of near panic. Americans sat glued to their radio sets to hear the news. Would there be more bombings? Was California safe? That night, Walt's phone rang. It was his studio manager. "Walt," he said, "The army is moving in on us. I said I'd have to call you. And they said 'Call him. But we're moving in anyway.'" Hours later, some 700 soldiers had, in fact, seized the Disney Studio. Their purpose was to help protect the nearby Lockheed aircraft plant -- an installation that was vital to the nation's security. The next day President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared war. And for the next eight months, until other provisions could be made, soldiers ate, trained, and lived in Walt's studio."

Also realize that most of his staff had been drafted into the military.
 
MKCP 1985

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
Woody, your history is correct, but I suggest you perhaps miss the point. Nobody drafted young Walt into the ambulance corps, and as a mid-teen, he was deployed to France to SERVE. Yes, he was homesick, but his patriotic sense of duty and service was demonstrated through his actions in getting to the point of being across the ocean from his home, assigned to ambulance duty for a division of the Red Cross, all while underage and under no obligation to have gone to begin with. Here's a quote from Leonard Mosley's book, Disney's World, describing young Walt Disney at age 16: "[H]e began haunting army and navy recruiting offices in an attempt to enlist. He was always turned away for being underage and underweight. But like many another patriotic American in those days, he was determined to get into the war somehow. So he added a year to his age and persuaded a Red Cross recruiter in Chicago to let him join up with one of the units due to be shipped to France."

Further, your quote on the occupation of his studio during WW II omits the facts of the accomodations Walt made to those soldiers housed in his studio, and his contributions to the war effort through studio productions. Need I remind you of "Der Furher's Face," "Victory Through Airpower," or the numerous other Walt Disney Studios efforts during WW II?

We serve through the talents we are given, in different ways and with different contributions.
 
Woody13

Woody13

New Member
Walt really had no great desire to serve his country in WWI. He missed his older brother Roy and he wanted to follow him wherever he went. Throughout Walt's life, he followed Roy like a puppy dog. After the war, Walt continued to follow Roy. He followed Roy to Kansas City and then followed Roy to Hollywood. Walt thought the world of his older brother. Walt joined up to emulate his brother.

I don't mean to diminish the work that Walt Disney did in support of WWII. All I am saying is that he had no choice in the matter. If he wanted to produce films, he had to make films at the direction of the U.S. Government. All of the movie studios in Hollywood were forced to work closely with the U.S. government in the creation of propaganda, newsreels and military training films. The use of searchlights at Hollywood premiers was prohibited, and Jack Warner painted a 20-foot arrow atop his studio, reading: "Lockheed - Thataway."
The government cut the amount of available film stock by 25 percent and restricted the money that could be spent on sets to $5,000 for each movie. If you didn't cooperate with the government, you got no film!

Less than two weeks after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt declared that the movie industry could make "a very useful contribution" to the war effort. But, he went on, "The motion picture industry must remain free . . . I want no censorship." That, of course, was pure propaganda. The Office of War Information (OWI) created the Bureau of Motion Pictures and the Bureau of Censorship. They controlled every aspect of movies made by the Hollywood studios during the war period.
 
MKCP 1985

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
Woody, we are just going to have to disagree on the interpretation of Walt Disney's patriotism. Where I see a devoted commitment to service, you see idolization of an older brother. My limited research informs me older brother Roy was in the U.S. Navy, assigned to ship duty on a destroyer, protecting merchant ships sailing between the U.S. and Europe. Walt was not able to join the Navy, did not serve on a ship, and was deploying to France at the same time his older brother was coming home. Moreover, Walt argued with his parents for weeks on end before obtaining the permission of his father to go.

But that is all I will say on the subject. I only conclude a case can be made for the inclusion of Walt Disney in the poll, as he was an extraordinary man and a great American.
 
GenerationX

GenerationX

Well-Known Member
I think Walt is worthy of being on the list. The list itself is okay, except for all of the currently popular people who don't have anywhere near the qualifications. I would have a hard time voting for just one, but I lean towards:

1. Thomas Jefferson - Author of the Declaration of Independence.
2. Thomas Edison - Without question, the greatest inventor to have ever lived.
3. Abraham Lincoln - Best President of the 19th century.
4. Ronald Reagan - Best President of the 20th century.
5. Billy Graham - Great, tireless preacher of the Good News.

Walt would make my Top 10.
 
Woody13

Woody13

New Member
MKCP 1985 said:
Woody, we are just going to have to disagree on the interpretation of Walt Disney's patriotism. Where I see a devoted commitment to service, you see idolization of an older brother. My limited research informs me older brother Roy was in the U.S. Navy, assigned to ship duty on a destroyer, protecting merchant ships sailing between the U.S. and Europe. Walt was not able to join the Navy, did not serve on a ship, and was deploying to France at the same time his older brother was coming home. Moreover, Walt argued with his parents for weeks on end before obtaining the permission of his father to go.

But that is all I will say on the subject. I only conclude a case can be made for the inclusion of Walt Disney in the poll, as he was an extraordinary man and a great American.
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Sharp eye! Roy did indeed join the U.S. Navy. It was Ray Disney that joined the U.S. Army. Also, Walt never got permission from his father. The way it worked was that Walt lied about his age (said he was 17 when he was actually 16) and the Red Cross didn't really care. They never checked anything. However, since Walt was going to Europe, he needed a passport and the good old government refused to issue a passport without the consent of his parents. His father (Elias) refused to give permission. Flora (Walt's Mom) forged Elias' signature so Walt could get the passport. Walt forged his own birth certificate.

You say that Walt Disney at the age of 16 was very patriotic. Well then, why did Walt attempt to join the Canadian Army before the Red Cross? Perhaps he was patriotic to Canada? No, I'm sorry but patriotism had nothing to do with his decision. Walt was a 16 year old child that (at that time) hated his father and idolized his older brother Roy. He wanted to be like Roy.

Walt's life is like a fish story about, "the one that got away". Walt was a really great guy and did some wonderful things. However, a lot of posh ends up distorting his true character.
 
CleveRoks

CleveRoks

Account Suspended
:lol:
GenerationX said:
I think Walt is worthy of being on the list. The list itself is okay, except for all of the currently popular people who don't have anywhere near the qualifications. I would have a hard time voting for just one, but I lean towards:

1. Thomas Jefferson - Author of the Declaration of Independence.
2. Thomas Edison - Without question, the greatest inventor to have ever lived.
3. Abraham Lincoln - Best President of the 19th century.
4. Ronald Reagan - Best President of the 20th century.
5. Billy Graham - Great, tireless preacher of the Good News.

Walt would make my Top 10.
Click to expand...

Great list but... Regan the best President of the 20th Century??
 

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