Tuesday, August 24, 2010
William Shakespeare, Henry Ford and Jesus Walk Into a Social Networking Site
Did she pick something hard like my favorite color or why Ryan Reynolds is pretty or why Katniss should OBVIOUSLY choose Peeta?
Of course not.
No, she decided to pick a really easy one: the 10 Most Influential People in History. According to me.
Do you know that history is a really long time?
There's, like, at least eleven people that would totally make my list. Which means someone was going to have to go. So, here's what I came up with:
10. Martin Luther. He started the ball rolling on the whole religious freedom thing. I'd say that makes him a pretty awesome guy.
9. Henry Ford. Not only was he the founder of the company that makes this car, but he's also credited as the father of the modern assembly line. A lot of people owe their livelihoods to that particular invention. Talk radio owes its modern popularity to rush hour traffic.
8. Queen Elizabeth I is still one of the most popular monarchs in history. At a time when women were not allowed to vote, own property, or hold a job more prestigious than seamstress, prostitute, or baker's wife, the Virgin Queen showed them all that women are just as capable of running a country as running a household.
5. William Shakespeare. If he actually looked like Joseph Fiennes, he might have ranked a bit higher on my list. But the fact is that William Shakespeare's many, many works have influenced centuries of literature and spawned dozens of really good (and terribly bad) movies and stage productions. It's impossible to get a high school diploma--even in California!--without having at least heard the name William Shakespeare. Plus there's that whole theory about him slipping his name into the 46th Psalm in the English translation of the King James Bible.
4. It almost feels like anything I say about Martin Luther King, Jr. is just not enough. His "revolutionary" practice of peaceful demonstrations and marches proved that there are better ways to bring about change than by resorting to violence. Unfortunately, it seems like too many people have completely missed the point of some of his most influential speeches and opinions, but that doesn't change the fact that his legacy lives on.
2. Mother Theresa's compassion and selfless life influenced millions around the world, regardless of religion or nationality. Her spirit lives on in the missionaries who continue her ministerial work, in the children she saved from homelessness and starvation, and in all those who go out of their way to serve others.
1. Jesus. It's with a sad sort of irony that so many people have died in his name. I know there are many that don't believe he is the Savior of the World, but I do and I am grateful for his perfect example, his teachings that guide me, and the sacrifice that will one day redeem me. When I was a missionary in eastern Canada, I had the opportunity to talk on a daily basis with people of all faiths and levels of belief. I never met a single person who didn't know of him or his message of love and peace. And that kind of universal recognition is the very definition of influential.
So who would you include in your list of most influential people in history? If you feel so inclined, write up a post and link up over at Jennee's place!
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"You know what they say. If you don't have anything nice to say about anybody, come sit by me."
~Clairee Belcher, Steel Magnolias