Who's Your Historical Hero?

[UberLutheran]

I may not agree with everything that Martin Luther ever said, and I may not agree with everything that Martin Luther King did -- but I wish I had the kind of bedrock, granitic faith which made it possible for each of those men to move the kinds of mountains they moved, in spite of the extreme danger they experienced and in the face of overwhelming odds against them.

 

[Galen]

I would have to reply and pop in with William the Bruce, for one of them.

Galen

 

[kurabrhm]

Good old Brucey!

 

[Neosoulchild]

TOUSSAINT L'OVERTURE!

 

[oldrooster]

Robert E. Lee, who probably was the best military commander that the US has ever produced, who served the worst cause ever. He was as remarkable in defeat as well as victory, and probably was the one reason that the US did not sink into an endless guerilla war at the end of the civil war as many southern leaders wanted.

 

[SolomonVII]

Robert E. Lee, who probably was the best military commander that the US has ever produced, who served the worst cause ever. He was as remarkable in defeat as well as victory, and probably was the one reason that the US did not sink into an endless guerilla war at the end of the civil war as many southern leaders wanted.

As there has been a few people who have cited R.E. Lee as their hero, and noone so far has repeated my choice of Abe Lincoln, I am a little curious to as how he was able to divert a guerilla war with his defeat.
Anyway, it is good to know that some have chosen him for his quality as a soldier and as a man, rather than for the cause that he fought for.
Oh, and a good time to welcome you to CF before you get more posts than me.

 

[oldrooster]

As there has been a few people who have cited R.E. Lee as their hero, and noone so far has repeated my choice of Abe Lincoln, I am a little curious to as how he was able to divert a guerilla war with his defeat.
Anyway, it is good to know that some have chosen him for his quality as a soldier and as a man, rather than for the cause that he fought for.
Oh, and a good time to welcome you to CF before you get more posts than me.

With the defeat of the Army of Northern Virginia, he advised his troops to go home and be good citizens of the US. Unlike jefferson Davis who ran away and was urging all southeners to resist and fight to the end.

 

[Ducks]

Gandhi.

 

[aragorn]

After Jesus, who set the ball rolling, Spartacus.

 

[jgarden]

Gandhi and the Dali Lhama - few worldly goods or aspirations, but capable of commanding the respect of different faiths.

 

[mindlight]

Who are your hero’s?

Jesus is incomparable really in terms of his historical impact on the numbers of lives changed by him , the numbers who follow him and the countless ways in which societies have been transformed by him.

'Hero' is a dubious title. Beckham is meant to be a hero but I cannot see what he has really done of any lasting value except make his family quite rich and riches do not last beyond the grave.

I think my choice of a religious figure - Jesus - as my hero illustrates a number of themes I would like to associate with the word hero.

1) Somebody who has truly transformed things for the better.
2) A message and example that is still relevant and alive today

Thus most warriors/leaders have been forgotten as the empires or nations they fought for have risen and fallen into dust and ashes.

Most thinkers and visionaries have been surpassed by other thinkers and visionaries coming from different perspectives or critical of their work.

Most engineers/scientists have been surpassed by new innovations or inventions or someone else would have eventually discovered the same thing or their theories and principles have since been exposed as nonsence or will be one day.


The only figures who make a truly signifant and lasting impact are religious ones like Jesus or Mohammed. These are the ones who transform people as well as societies - internally and externally. In the modern era these 2 are the dominant voices on the world stage with a confused Chinese Maoist and Adam Smith competing for attention in the background I think. In the Cold war Lenin and Marx competed with Christ and Adam Smith. But in the end the last man standing is always Jesus Christ.

In the modern day in my own nation - I would say Wesley and Whitfield still rank highly as being at the heart of the last major revival here. But given another great revival their names may one day be forgotten also in favour of the one they served with their lives.

 

[Aristides]

I find Flavius Claudius Julianus to be a most admirable and respectable person.

 

[Existential1]

My second choice is Robert Owen

Is this the Owen of New Lanark?

 

[Existential1]

Ghandi because he's almost familiar and contemporary.
Jesus because he put redemption into play.
The SPLD leader in Ireland, whose name I forget, who put wheels on the Irish peace process.
Paster NeiMouler (sp!) because he voluntarily entered the concentration camps with his people.
Martin Luther King because he was human and vulnerable, yet made the power of God visible, and made the "dream" speech, and was brave in civil liberty struggles. The lady who sang "The King is Dead".
Nelson Mandela for selling his people the vision of reconcilaition; and Tutu too.
Leach Walesa for being immense when the USSR was all powerful.
All those who took up arms in Warsaw: for what they left us with.
Everyone everywhere, and at any time, who has had the courage to make witness of what they knew to be true; where the anticpated response was cruel.
Every child who renews us with their eternal optimism and trust.

 

[Archivist]

Some of my heroes...

Benjamin Franklin--inventor, philosopher, and statesman who negotated the Treaty with France that was largely responsible for American independence

General George Gordon Meade--an underrated American general who beat Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg and lead the Army of the Potomac for the remainder of the war

President Theodore Roosevelt--advocate of the strenuous life, conservationist, explorer, military hero, trustbuster, builder of the Panama Canal and the President who sent America's Great White Fleet around the world

Ludwig van Beethoven--writer of some of the most beautiful music ever composed who refused to be defeated by his deafness

Sir Winston Churchill--the great advocate of democracy who lead stood alone against Hitler and the evils of Nazism

Jeanne d'Arc--the young French woman who heard voices and lead France to victory over the English

 

[wildthing]

Easy
Jesus
Ronald Reagan
Otto Von Bismarck
Sir Winston Churchill

 

[oldrooster]

I will agree with you on General Meade, he was overshadowed by Grant, that was not fair. Without Gettysburg, there would have been no further victories.

 

[DJ_Ghost]

William Wallace. The dude stood up for his country and did one heck of a job.

He did a terrible job, we lost.
Also he did it more out of Hatred for the English than love for the Scots. A fine distinction but an important one. There are many better examples of Scotish heros than Wallace. Of course none of them freed us from the English yoke terribly effectivly but still.

Anyway back on topic, my historical heros would have to include,

King Leonedas of Sparta
Karl Popper, founding father of Falsificationism
Martin Luther King
Sir Arthur Wellsley
Emile Durkheim

Ghost

Edit; And of course, a lone Chinese man with a plastic carrier bag whos name I do not know (but will try to find out when time allows), who stood infront of a column of Chinese tanks outside of Tianamin (sp?) square.

 

[Alessandra]

I doubt I need to explain this one, but Nelson Mandela has always been very inspirational to me.

 

[megan76291]

as an american, i think that FDR and his wife eleanor are the greatest figures in american history. despite his handicap of not being able to walk, he dominated in ww2, and and helped to bring the country out of economic depression. his wife took efforts of restoration into her own hands by personally visiting americans and helping out with the WPA- one of the most organized and greatest programs in history. they truely cared about the american people and didnt lie, decieve or belittle us.