There’s a meme going around, dagnabbit, and I’m not going to be left out in the cold.
1. Jefferson Davis—all around traitorous bastard
2. Robert E. Lee—traitorous bastard who killed thousands of Americans, however noble he was supposed to have been
3. Nathan Bedford Forrest—traitor and racist shit who founded the KKK
4. George Custer—for killing Indians and being an arrogant sonuvabitch (Could substitute Andrew Jackson for ethnic cleansing of Cherokees)
5. J. Edgar Hoover—for breaking the Constitution because, you know, he thought we’d appreciate it
6. Richard Nixon—for breaking the Constitution because, you know, he wanted to (Could tack on G. Gordon Liddy here)
7. Joseph McCarthy—demagogue and fear monger (Could tack on Roy Cohn here)
8. Henry Ford—fascist, anti-semite, friend to Hitler, and inventor of consumerism
9. Robert McNamara—CEO of the military-industrial complex during the Cold War
10. Tim McVeigh—for blowing up my home town, and probably inspiring someone else to try the same in the future
Dishonorable mention:
11. Ollie North
12. John C. Calhoun
13. George Wallace
14. Strom Thurmond
15. Dean Acheson
[tags]ten worst americans, history[/tags]
All Things Beautiful TrackBack A Challenge To The Blogosphere: ‘The Ten Worst Americans’ List
You are a man of my own heart….we hate pretty much the same ‘historic’ people. It is hard to choose.
The atom bomb thing would make my list…but then I don’t hate FDR….
I once sat down with fhree hundred others around then Sec of Defense Robert McNamara’s car, he had just finished speaking at Harvard, they sent the Harvard football squard running out in front of his car to scare us, but three hundred non violent protesters can absorb a football squard.
Any rate McNamara actually got up on top of his limosene and tried to explain Vietnam to us…a crazy kind of integrity was on exhibit there…he didn’t dismiss us….or stay in his car and let his handlers gas us….he wanted to explain…..I think he later came to see he was an idiot.
can we add bush and cheney to dishonorable mention?
Yeah, I’m just waiting for the actual impeachments and convictions. Don’t want to jinx it. ;-)
Oh my, this is quite the interesting and successful meme! Though so far, I suspect its impact is/will be more negative than positive: it seems to be stimulating much hatemongering, and reinforcing the pervasive libera/conservative polarization we’re all swimming in. I scanned the All Things Beautiful megablog, and am reminded of just how politicized all of our concepts of good and evil are– and that good and harm often result from the same cause, however intentioned, such as the rise in malaria allegedly due to the ban on DDT.
I note with bemusement that the vast majority of entries for worst Americans are white, male, and politicians. Conservative bloggers and commentators seem more likely to sprinkle in women and minorities. All I would infer from that is the importance of having social power in order to purvey evil– no demographic identity has a corner on the evilness market. Some forms of social power that don’t appear to be getting much (or as much) recognition in this meme war include the economic market (e.g., robber barons), media moguls and personalities (see money), religious leaders.
Another observation: many evils have multiple causes, and to point at one person as the lynchpin is sometimes a dubious act. For example, one person blamed Jeremy Rifkin for keeping useful technology out of the hands of folks who could benefit from it. The biotech enterprise is very much alive and kiciking, and Rifkin is hardly the most influential or only opponent. Further, I am reminded of what a mentor once told me: namely, that given the wealth inequities in our societal structures, every new technonlogy exacerbates the divide between the haves and the have nots. That’s not a service to humanity.
Closing can-opener: other than harm to another human being (which is sometimes justifiable, as in self-defense), is there any broader, meaningful definition of evil we can all agree on?
Mary,
Thanks for your thoughtful response.
I’m afraid harm might just be as broad a definition of evil as we can agree upon, as least civically. I worked with ethicists for five years, and the notion of harms vs. wrongs came up often. They were a pragmatic bunch, though, and weren’t all that interested in laying it all out for everyone. Wish I could be more helpful here.
To misquote a Supreme Court justice, I think we all know evil when we see it. Those who say there is no evil are either naive or deceived (or both). Perhaps that’s part of why internet conversations are usually shut down when folks bring Hiter into the discussion—he’s an evil we can all agree about, and when folks compare someone to him, it’s tantamount to shutting down civil discourse. (Because it amounts to calling your verbal sparring partner’s position “evil.”)
My. my, Chance. Talk about a 180. You sound like you would possibly be more happy in Havana than anywhere in the United States. Having been down that left-wing road myself, I can only say I am glad I know longer think that way. I see you knock patriots like Jefferson Davis. I would urge you to read a biography of Davis. He’s not what the leftists in Boston and Atlanta taught you. Chance, Chance, Chance. Wake-up!!!!!
By the way, (besides typing “know” instead of “no” above)…..I just wanted you to know I am a libertarian conservative and can’t stand George W. Bush. He is a threat to the country and I would support articles of impeachment. However, I am prepared to support someone in 2008 who is a TRUE conservative.