Vote for Walt Disney!

[MCBRIZZ5]

Count me a Walt.

 

[TRITON4ME]

Gosh - I love Walt Disney and Jim Henson as much as the next guy, but they're nowhere near the top. Off the top of my head, what about...

Ben Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
FDR
Martin Luther King Jr.
Susan B. Anthony
Albert Einstein


Now, if the list was "greatest American ENTERTAINERS" then Walt definitely goes at or near the top.

Of course, these sorts of lists are silly anyway. How can one argue "Lincoln was greater than Einstein" - it just doesn't make any sense. That's like saying "The 1996 Bulls are better than the 2004 Red Sox."

BEN FRANKLIN? COME ON!

Do you honestly know anything about Ben Franklin? There's a lot more to Franklin than his inventions! During the time of the American Revolution Franklin was referred to as a professional propagandist. Many historians are on the record as saying that Franklin was all talk. He would constantly use propaganda to illustrate how "awful" the British were and yet at the time of the Revolution he was no where to be found and basically "disappeared" until after the war was over. The reason I know so much about Franklin is because for my college American History class we were required to read a biography of Ben Franklin. So trust me Franklin was definately not instrumental in America's developement and really was basically a professional "hell-raiser" according to one historian.

Now as for FDR, that was a good choice! IMO, FDR was the best President in the history of the US!

But lets not forget about who should be #1-- George Washington. I mean he is basically the sole reason why we won the American Revoluation and why we are not under British control.

For my most underrated American: I would have to go with: Benedict Arnold. I know he betrayed America but a lot of people do not know the "truth" behind Arnold. During the Revolution Benedict Arnold was George Washington's most trusted General. In fact Arnold was the sole reason why the Americans won the crucial Battle of Saratoga. That, in turn, motivated France to come to our aid and was the turning point in the war. A lot of people don't realize that the war was already basically over by the time Arnold betrayed America and went to the British.

 

[FigmentJedi]

Walt Disney and Jim Henson for me.

 

[WDWScottieBoy]

Walt Disney
Tom Hanks
John F. Kennedy
John Glenn
George W. Bush

Then I nominated Walt 10 more times within the next two sets after that, so he got 11 votes from me.

 

[DonickCo]

voted Walt disney 15 times :animwink:

 

[ArchiDanDisney]

But lets not forget about who should be #1-- George Washington. I mean he is basically the sole reason why we won the American Revoluation and why we are not under British control.

QUOTE]

If you took an american history class, than you would KNOW that Washington was one of the worst Field Generals in American History...The only battle he actually won, was the Seige at Yorktown, which he only succeeded in due to the nice help we recieved from the french...Great leader....no where near the sole reason we won the american revolution

 

[Woody13]

Gosh - I love Walt Disney and Jim Henson as much as the next guy, but they're nowhere near the top. Off the top of my head, what about...

Ben Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
FDR
Martin Luther King Jr.
Susan B. Anthony
Albert Einstein

You are correct. Let me add just a few off the top of my head:

Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison
Eli Whitney
Elijah McCoy
Charles Drew
George Washington Carver
The Wright Brothers
George Westinghouse

Sorry, but Walt Disney doesn't even come close to being in the top 100 of great Americans.

 

[TRITON4ME]

But lets not forget about who should be #1-- George Washington. I mean he is basically the sole reason why we won the American Revoluation and why we are not under British control.

QUOTE]

If you took an american history class, than you would KNOW that Washington was one of the worst Field Generals in American History...The only battle he actually won, was the Seige at Yorktown, which he only succeeded in due to the nice help we recieved from the french...Great leader....no where near the sole reason we won the american revolution

Obviously it has been a while since you have taken an American History class! During the American Revolution Washington's strategy was never to just 'win' a battle. In fact, until the Frech showed up to our aid we (Americans) were fighting a defensive battle in which winning was not the top priority. And that French leader you are thinking about is General Rochembeau and yes he did have a large influence on Washington's troops. My history professor wrote a very interesting thesis on what he thinks the Revolution would have turned out if Washington was not chosen as our leader. He concluded that Washington is the only leader who would have not given up when the Britsh held the upper hand in the war. I mean think about it, our other candidates for Washington's position were: Hamilton, Haratio Gates (who did serve as a commander under Washington but abandon his troops on many occasions), Samual Adams (who basically was just a professional propagandist and had no battle experience at all)

My professor has repeadly said about Washington: "he lost every battle except the last one." However, Washington's ability to get General Burgoin to surrender at the Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the war because it pursuaded the French to come to our aid and that began to turn the tables in the war. Without, the French there would have been no way to defeat the far superior British army and Washington was able to rally his troops at Saratoga and motivate the French to come to our aid.

Ok there's your free history lesson for today, test on Monday!

 

[Nut4Disney]

Ronald Reagan
Thomas Edison
Ronald Reagan
Thomas Jefferson
Albert Sabin

BTW - FDR was one of the worst presidents this country has ever had. :brick:

 

[Boo72]

I voted for Walt!

The description at the bottom of the nomination page says this:

"When you think of the Greatest American, what single person – living or dead – comes to mind as its best example? Someone who seized opportunities, saw things in a different way, or stood out in a crowd? Someone who demonstrated determination, vision and hard work? This person could be an inventor, explorer, entertainer, entrepreneur, or athlete. He or she may have changed the way we think, work, or live. They may have challenged us, delighted us, or enraged us, and ultimately helped us define what it means to be an American. Who do YOU most identify as the Greatest American?"

I think this is a great bench mark to use when choosing who to vote for.

This also definitely describes Walt Disney to me! But that is just my opinion. After reading that and thinking about it I can think of a lot of U.S. citizens who have helped define "America". There are many, many people who qualify as "greatest American". It will be interesting to see who comes out as the top 100 in Discovery/AOL's poll.

I love reading who people voted for, even if some of them wouldn't be my top choices. Isn't the fact that we are all influenced and shaped by different people part of what makes America great in the first place?!

 

[TRITON4ME]

Ronald Reagan
Thomas Edison
Ronald Reagan
Thomas Jefferson
Albert Sabin

BTW - FDR was one of the worst presidents this country has ever had. :brick:

FDR one of the worst President we ever had?:lol: Come on! That has to be the most worthless piece of propaganda I have ever heard, and that's including Farenheit 9/11! How could you possibly say such a thing? If you are going to say something like that at least attempt to back it up with something that will support you rediculous comment!

FDR is regarded by almost all historians as the most influential President in the history of America! What he did during his four terms in office remains unsurpassed by any President, past or present!

So please give a reason behind your statement so you don't look as rediculous as you do right now. It amazes me how little our society knows about our nations history! And our history doesn't even trace back that long compared to many other countries throughout the world! So please, go to biography.com and find some useful information to back up your statement so you can at least attempt to back yourself up.

Thanks and have a nice day!

 

[Nut4Disney]

Wow! You know it all Triton4Me, except how to spell (ridiculous). From G. Washington to B. Franklin to the American Revolution and even FDR. And by the way, my opinion was in no way propaganda. I mean, how could I influence such an astute intellectual like yourself. I guess the years of studying your historically biased textbooks finally paid off for you. You are able to share your knowledge and insight with those on a Disney chat board. How proud you must be. Kudos to you sir! As I am at work right now earning a living and do not have time to rebut right now, I will have to reply tomorrow with facts regarding FDR. Actually I believe I have a paper I wrote about 15 yrs ago in college regarding this topic. In case it's packed away in the depths of my basement, what is that site again? Oh yeah, Biography.com. :lol: (hardly!) By the way, what historians would you be referring to? The same historians who will make sure that Bill Clinton goes down in the history books as a great and moral president. Please, put down the NY Times and turn off CNN and MTV and welcome to the real world. That's really the sad part, Universities teaching impressionable kids, liberal biased, politically correct garbage.

 

[Dizparks]

I just voted for Walt :sohappy:

 

[TRITON4ME]

Wow! You know it all Triton4Me, except how to spell (ridiculous). From G. Washington to B. Franklin to the American Revolution and even FDR. And by the way, my opinion was in no way propaganda. I mean, how could I influence such an astute intellectual like yourself. I guess the years of studying your historically biased textbooks finally paid off for you. You are able to share your knowledge and insight with those on a Disney chat board. How proud you must be. Kudos to you sir! As I am at work right now earning a living and do not have time to rebut right now, I will have to reply tomorrow with facts regarding FDR. Actually I believe I have a paper I wrote about 15 yrs ago in college regarding this topic. In case it's packed away in the depths of my basement, what is that site again? Oh yeah, Biography.com. :lol: (hardly!) By the way, what historians would you be referring to? The same historians who will make sure that Bill Clinton goes down in the history books as a great and moral president. Please, put down the NY Times and turn off CNN and MTV and welcome to the real world. That's really the sad part, Universities teaching impressionable kids, liberal biased, politically correct garbage.

Historically biased text books? Hardly! Why would my professor just assign books that show the negative aspects of our history? I loved my history class because rather than my professor just "feeding us the boring facts" he decided to take an interesting approach of intertwining the facts with the "unknown truths" behind the facts. My professor really made history interesting in this aspect and almost motivated me enough to change my major to history, the only thing holding me back is the lack of money that educators make!

What historians am I referring to? Well those who say that Clinton was a 'good President' are right in a respect. During Clinton's administration our nation took part in the largest economic surplus in the history of the United States! So you really can't say that he was a complete failure! Now as for his morals you have a point there, but Clinton isn't even on my top 10 list of the worst US Presidents.

As for the material that my University teaches in its curriculum: What's wrong with it? Seriously, has it been that long since you have been in college? Trust me, if you think it was difficult and pressure-packed back in your day, you would be in for a rude awakening today! No longer can you skate by in college with below a 3.0 GPA! Actually, the policy at my University is: if you want to apply for the college of your field of study (ex:College of Business) you must have above a 3.0 just to be eligible to apply!

Ok now to get back on topic: I hope you find that FDR paper that you wrote:lookaroun ! Alothough I think I have a feeling what your responce is going to be: "I must have thrown it out or something." If this is your excuse please spare yourself and don't bother!

It amazes me how many people look down on my generation! Seriously, do honestly think we are that stupid? And what makes your generation so great anyway? It's such a sterotype that we, as young adults, have our lives revolve around what is happening on MTV! I'm so sick of people saying that! After all, wasn't your generation that made MTV popular in the first place? I think so!

 

[dvcnut39]

Just think of all the millions that Walt made happy, the way that they bend over for the disabled, etc.... Chalk up another one for "The Great One Himself."

 

[imagineer boy]

I voted for Walt fourteen times, and Jim Henson once. :sohappy:

And guys, this is a good thread. Please please please don't turn it into a political argument. Please. It seems to be going in that direction.

 

[TRITON4ME]

I voted for Walt fourteen times, and Jim Henson once. :sohappy:

And guys, this is a good thread. Please please please don't turn it into a political argument. Please. It seems to be going in that direction.

Once again, I think you don't even know what politics are! Seriously, how are historical facts at all political? All we are talking about is the historical facts surrounding some of the members that were listed! So please don't worry about this thread getting off topic, after all it's not like there is much to talk about in this thread. I mean, you give your list of who you voted for and that's about it.

 

[imagineer boy]

Well, for one you guys are going, "This guy IMO was the worst president ever!"

 

[Dryice7670]

Walt got my vote definately.

 

[Nut4Disney]

I'm not trying to turn it into a political debate. This is a Disney Forum, not Crossfire. Triton4Me is the one who began critiquing peoples choices. (See Ben Franklin).