John Hinderaker from Powerline listed some controversial propositions that he asserts as true. I think that this is what makes blogging great.
We all should be making bold assertions and then be forced to defend them from the criticism of our friends. What better way to strengthen our thinking skills and to actually learn something to boot?
Here are John’s assertions; I added my responses in the bullet points underneath.
———————–
Here are some things I believe to be true. At least, I think I do:
* The most under-rated man in modern history was U.S. Grant.
- It’s hard to disagree with this assertion; the stories of Grant’s drinking were exaggerated.
- His Vicksburg Campaign was brilliant and the loss of lives was smaller than most battles of that time.
- His aid to former slaves during reconstruction was greater than other presidents of that era.
- He received less credit for avoiding war with Spain than McKinley received for winning it.
- And according to historians; he wrote the greatest Presidential Autobiography; despite what you might have heard about the writing skills of other presidents.
* It is odd that people keep talking about the Great American Novel, since American novelists are, and always have been, sub-par by international standards.
- The term “Great American Novel” is actually a plaintive request for someone to actually write one.
- However I personally believe that Phillip K Dick is to European Literature as Picasso is to Renaissance Art. -That’s my controversial proposition.
* The greatest athlete of modern times, in any team sport, was Bobby Orr. Sorry, no room for discussion. It’s just a fact.
- The law of averages says that most of you who are reading this aren’t hockey fans. But if you are, then you know that the above assertion is true.
- Orr was a defenseman who was a scoring threat from anywhere on the ice and he changed the very nature of his sport by his skill level.
- Orr dominated his sport like no one else; he was more dominant than Gretzky, Michael Jordan, Jim Brown or Pelé were in their sports.
* The most over-rated man of the 20th century was Gandhi. Nelson Mandela is runner-up.
- The most over-rated group of the 20th century and so far in the 21st is the Nobel Peace Prize Committee.
* Much as Bob Dylan was the most authentic spokesman for his generation, Taylor Swift is the most authentic spokesman for hers.
- I don’t care enough to respond to this one. There of course, no authentic spokesman for any American generation.
* The three most desirable actresses in movie history are Paulette Goddard, Anna Karina and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
- This list is completely wrong. Any grouping of Veronica Lake, Ingrid Bergman, Simone Simone, Hedy Lamarr, Vivien Leigh or Rita Hayworth beats John’s list. The “Greatest Generation” was also the hottest generation.
* There is over-rated, and then there are the Rolling Stones.
- I don’t agree. Yes, every high school in America could put together a more talented group of musicians than the members of the Rolling Stones; but to write hit song after hit song takes a certain magical skill. And their songs still get frequent play on the radio after 40 years.
- A better statement would be “There is over-rated, and then there is Garrison Keillor”. But that might be a bad example too, since after 40 years; his same old jokes apparently still get laughs.
* How is Vermeer like Flaubert? They might have been the best ever, if they had produced more. Stendahl could go in that category, too.
- I can’t disagree since I don’t know what he is talking about.
* London is the world’s greatest city, and Israel is the world’s most exciting place.
- This proposition reminds me that I haven’t traveled enough. The two greatest cities that I have seen (and for very different reasons) are New York and Kenora Ontario.
* America’s youth have never been the same since Saturday morning television went from real programming (Fury, Sky King, the Cisco Kid, etc.) to cartoons.
- I am old enough to remember those shows, they were for boys and my sisters hated them. The only cartoon like them was Johnny Quest.
* The only good lawyer show in the history of television was Perry Mason.
- This proposition begs the question; what aspect of anyone’s professional, personal or social life does Hollywood accurately depict?
* The title of world’s greatest man has bounced back and forth between England and the U.S. for a while now: last half of the 18th century, George Washington; first half of the 19th century, the Duke of Wellington; second half of the 19th century, Abraham Lincoln; first half of the 20th century, Winston Churchill; second half of the 20th century, Ronald Reagan. But I very much doubt that the pattern will continue.
- Maybe I am a pessimist, but somehow I am thinking that the “world’s greatest man” title might just be going away.
* The greatest benefactors of humanity, by a mile, are the pharmaceutical companies.
- Actually, the people who save more lives than anyone else are sanitation engineers. Thank your garbage man next week, he is the reason that you aren’t dying of cholera.
* But for World War II, Franklin Roosevelt would have gone down in history as the worst President since James Buchanan.
- Read the book Recarving Rushmore by Evan Eland. The book can be frequently infuriating, but it will give you a completely different perspective on which Presidents are great; along with the subjectivity of judging greatness.
* Anyone who uses the word “sustainability” has no idea how the world works.
- This is actually a sustainable assertion.
* The worst person in the history of the world was Lenin. Not only was he a mass murderer, the three biggest mass murderers in world history–Mao, Stalin and Hitler–were all his legitimate heirs, and may not have been possible without him.
- I might argue whether Hitler was Lenin’s heir but I can’t argue with his choice.
* The smartest person whom most Americans see on a regular basis is Simon Cowell.
- Funny, I’ve been thinking the same thing. You pay Cowell to come into your living room to create a demand and then you pay Cowell to supply that demand.
- And face it; the talent that he discovers is really nothing special. What is special is that he discovers the talent.
* Minneapolis’s Institute of Arts is the most under-rated museum in the country. Among other things, it has the best painting Rembrandt ever did.
- If you say so; I have driven bythat joint hundreds of times and have never have been in it. Maybe I will some time.
———————————————————-
As you can see, John was generally right in his assertions. But you can also see that I corrected him when he was wrong. Thank God for the sustainability of my expert reasoning skills.
Related posts:
Well written post. Will there be a follow up sometime soon?
1. Grant was historically underrated.
A. I doubt his drinking was exaggerated, and if so not by much (he did have the nose), I would just say the relationship between a man’s worth and his vices is less important than the amount of focus given to it. Unless it makes him a hypocrite or runs counter to the reasoning behind his achievements it is a logical fallacy to formulate the two.
B. Grants autobiography was one of the best Presidential Autobiographies. In the same sense that Prince is one of the best pop artists from Minnesota. Grant’s Autobiography was one of the best autobiographies period. For my money I would place it as one of the most compelling examples of American literature without dropping it into a sub-category.
Gandhi and Delano achievements:
Gandhi may be over-rated but I say there is a quality test that cannot be applied but should not be ignored either. When a person of tremendous influence reserves the full scope of that influence for a higher good. A person being aware of their means to an end is rare and, in this respect, I would consider Gandhi in a category of President Washington.
Delano, on the other hand, is very over-rated but not for the reason’s mentioned. The ‘if not for’ argument is not a fair one for anyone. Great men are usually just good men in extreme situations. I would say that despite a successful war campaign in his background F.D.R. did more damage than good. In other words, all things considered and applied he is still over-rated and a dangerous hero.
Lenin, as a side note, is also given too much credit by considering him the face to the ‘Red Revolution’. The Czar was displaced by a people pushed too far, not by a political ideal or a charismatic and principled strategist. Lenin showed up after the fact and thanked everyone for believing in ‘his’ cause before anyone could claim rightful responsibility for the poor conditions of the agrarian Russian culture. It’s like going to a bar on your birthday and telling everyone they came out just for you. Just because they don’t correct you by explaining they are out because they hate their life doesn’t make it your birthday party. As far as being an heir to imperialistic mid-century Europe I’m convinced that several poorly managed militaristic states could have managed to destroy a continent without the goatee sporting barat wearing pipe smoking coffee shop revolution.
3. London is a dumb choice. It’s a transitional hub not a destination. If the English hadn’t stolen and plundered the world’s greatest treasures there wouldn’t be a reason to go there. London is the kid who stole all the other kids balls and if you don’t let him play he’ll take them and go home, and if you switch the game he’ll get his mom and she’ll make you let him play or she’ll tell your mothers who hate talking to England’s mom so much that they would rather making you play with England than listener to her. And he also doesn’t pay attention to the game when he does get to play so I don’t understand why the hell he wanted in the first place anyway.
Very good comments Big Fish; Mark Twain would agree with you about Grant's Autobiography.
Grant was a strange guy; he graduated near the bottom of his class at West Point and he showed little promise of a successful military career. But he obviously conquered his demons in order to make it work.
Conquering demons would be putting it unjustly. Grant wanted to be a math teacher and that was his focus while at West Point; the educational options being less focused or as diverse as they are today of course. Through a series of strange events and positioning, Grant was called into service under Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott (the 2nd American General to be honored with the ranking of Lieutenant General, Washington being 1st, and Grant 3rd) in the Mexican-American war. With the eruption of the Civil War Grant joined with reservation but an overriding sense of duty; as few Northern men were as familiar with war as would be needed.
I could, and would like to go on; but stop just to strongly encourage anyone to read his autobiography. Its one of the few works to truly capture the American Spirit. I hate to sound tacky but there is really no other way to say it. Although I will say that the American spirit could be summed up as dumb-luck and unshakable principles compounded with the skills of observation and adaptability. Anyway, I wouldn’t say he conquered any demons but rather cleared his head of other people’s ideals and kept his eyes and ears open. Occam ’s razor.
I have to agree with you about sanitation engineers having a huge impact on human health. It is amazing how much I take the removal of garbage and human waste and the cleanliness of our water supply for granted every day. It would be impossible to live in such close proximity with such a variety of people if it were not the case.
I can't say that pharmaceutical companies have not had a great impact on the health of humanity. They have been revolutionary in the areas of antibiotics, immunizations, anesthetics, and birth control, but I disagree when John says they are ahead "by a mile", especially when you consider the cost of drugs and their potential profits.
Here is some information about Grant's memoirs from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Memoirs_of_Ulysses_S._Grant
Check out the part about Lee's Surrender.
The guy could write.
Minneapolis Institute of Art: I don’t know about it being the most under rated museum in the country but I’d assume it has to be in the top 5. I agree that it does house the greatest Rembrandt and I’ll add that its Chuck Close is equally significant for the modern art category. The Minneapolis institute has a good to really good collection but considering its size it has the start for an amazing collection. In other words it has the skeleton of an amazing collection. The eclectic understanding is there but it needs meat on the bones. They have a piece for several noteworthy artists; Degas, De Goya, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Albrecht Durer and others with less memorable names. It is like taking a Junior College course on art history and reminds the world why Minnesota is better than they are.