The Greatest American

Have you been keeping up with The Greatest American on Sundays? I really haven't, though my wife and I look it up from time to time on AOL just to see who has been chosen thus far and maybe make a quick vote. I must question whether or not people in our country are thinking rationally. It seems like we, as a nation, have little to no long-term memory; no ability to consider things of the past as relevant to our current lifestyle. Granted, I know that not everyone falls in this boat; it is a generalization, and in general, we are way too narcissistic. I say this because we seem too focused on what is current, and it comes out in these top countdown lists. I've seen it in other lists where the voters are the general public and Brittany Spears ends up being considered a better artist and more important to music than the Beatles. Seriously. Stop and think rationally for just a moment, people.

The reason for this rant is the top 25 on the Greatest American list. It included people like George W Bush, Lance Armstrong, and Billy Graham. Well-known individuals in our current society. However, what great things have they done as Americans that benefit us as a nation and possibly the world? Susan B Anthony wasn't in the top 25. Bush, Armstrong, & Graham haven't done anything equivalent to getting women the right to vote. Jonas Salk wasn't up there. They haven't created a vaccine saving thousands of people from paralysis or death. Harriet Tubman wasn't in the top 25. They haven't saved thousands of Americans from slavery and death. I know that my examples are a little off, because things like slavery do not (to my knowledge) occur in our country today. Nonetheless, thinking rationally, does one really think that in 50 years our nation will still be praising how Bush "bravely" sent thousands of Americans to die and gave us and extra $200 back on our taxes? I would like to say that we will still know about and teach about Susan B Anthony. At least, I thought it was important that women got the right to vote...