Who do you RESPECT most?

[Feraud]

At an appearance at a large retail department store he found out that the manager only let the kids who bought something in line for his autograph...so he promply punched him out ! My kind of guy. True to the end.

That is a great story!

 

[farnham54]

Terry Fox.

Incredible strength, incredible story. And thanks to some news I got from a friend the other whos scarecly a year older then I am (she is going to be fine) I have a newfound respect and interest for his cause and his accomplishments.

Cheers
Craig

 

[imoldfashioned]

Fred Rogers -- perhaps the most genuinely virtuous American of the 20th century.

For years I thought about writing to him and telling him what he meant to me but I never did and I regret it to this day. He's the only "celebrity" who's death made me cry. Have you read that Esquire article about him--probably 10 years old now? The author was a bit crass but it was still awfully good.

 

[LadyStardust]

Without hesitation, I would say Theodore Roosevelt is at the top of my list. He has always been an inspiration.

Also, Dwight Eisenhower is up there, along with Gerald Durrell and Jean Webster.

 

[dhermann1]

Some awfully good choices up so far. I recently read (in a Churchill bio) of the part Michael Collins played in bringing independence to Ireland. He basically knowingly sacrificed his life for his country.
It's amusing to see the contorversy that still clings to FDR's name, but he's stiil high on my list. And when you mention FDR, you have to include Harry Hopkins. He pretty much gave his life for his country, too.
But my all time main man is Winston Churchill. I admire the verve and zest with which he lived his life, and am amazed at the magnanimity he showed to his adversaries on so many occasions.

 

[Twitch]

I guess my most respected individuals are John Godfrey and Don Gentile who flew Mustangs together in WW 2. They personified teamwork and friendship.

 

[Hondo]

Roy Rogers a good role model while growing up, even if I wasn't around at his height, best years.
I also admire Abraham Lincoln, and the thoughts, words by
Robert F Kennedy, admire, true he had is faults, the whole kennedy clan had faults but his words, ideas shouldn't be lost in todays world.

http://www.rfkmemorial.org/

 

[ortega76]

Fred Rogers -- perhaps the most genuinely virtuous American of the 20th century.

Yes, I would add Fred Rogers to my list. I caught a feature on him by NPR. The reporter was a 20-something who wondered what Fred Rogers could offer him as an adult so he took his "adult" problems to Mr. Rogers and received some sound advice based on the things Mr. Rogers taught children. Amazing that teaching understanding, respect and love should be so profound and so often non-existent in our day and age.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Raphael, Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatelo, ( and no, I am not talking about those dudes in the turtle costumes here, ) Gianlorenzo Berninni, Frederick Church, Maxfield Parrish,...my personal picks for history's all time greatest artists.

 

[Lady Day]

Paul Robeson, Eartha Kitt, Malcom X, Spike Lee


LD

 

[K.D. Lightner]

One of my icons is Rosa Parks. The incredible bravery of that one single act sparked the entire human rights movement.

Others: Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Joan of Arc, and, yes, Miep Gies and all who helped to shelter Jews during the Nazi occupation, i.e., the citizens of Denmark who all took to wearing yellow stars.

Thanks for mentioning her, I might have forgotten to put her on the list.

Albert Schweitzer, that great humanitarian.

karol

 

[scotrace]

Jesus, Lincoln, Washington, both Roosevelts, George Marshall, many more. There have been many worthy of respect and admiration.
But perhaps most of all, a woman in my own community who, though quite ill with brittle diabetes, is always bright, full of cheer, and working for the betterment of others. My respect for my friend, Kelly, is boundless.

 

[beaucaillou]

People I've not known: MLK, Harriet Tubman, John Lydon, Jane Addams, Joan of Arc, Frederick Douglass, Samuel Beckett.

People I do know: my sister, my best friend, Matt Reed, Laura MacDonald.

 

[CharlieH.]

Walt Disney, George Pal and Robert Ripley.

 

[JazzBaby]

Eamon de Valera, Patrick Pearse and all the volunteers in the 1916 Rising, Vladimir Nabakov, Sean O'Casey and my grandmother and grand-aunt.

 

[Viola]

John Brown
Sojourner Truth
Benjamin Franklin
William Penn
Theodore Roosevelt


-Viola

 

[Parallel Guy]

Great thread. We need more heros.

Most have already been mentioned:
TR
FDR
John Brown
etc.

Two that haven't:
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Warrent Officer Hugh Thompson, Jr. who saved the lives of many at My Lai

 

[HadleyH]

My admiration goes to to all of those who fight for the rights and welfare of the weak, sick, elderly and last but far from least ,all animal life on this planet. No individual names here. It's to that nameless group of people that I have the highest respect for.

 

[Technonut]

I respect Robert E. Lee. A brilliant man that OPPOSED slavery, he was offered command of the Union forces, but turned down the command to fight for Virginia and the South. While Union forces destroyed cities and towns, taking any supplies needed, Lee issued orders after invading Pennsylvania prohibiting wanton injury to private property, and for his soldiers to pay for any supplies taken from civilians.

Years after the war, Lee was offered $50,000 to use his name for a questionable business venture. Lee replied: "Sirs, my name is the heritage of my parents. It is all I have, and it is not for sale."

 

[Rosie]

Phoolan Devi
Fanny Lou Hamer
Charles Drew
Maman Marie Laveau
Shirley Chisolm
both my Grandmothers : Mary Moultrie Owens and Annie Bradley Stephens
all of my ancestors who kept the way of OSHA alive so that I and others can carry on our traditions


Mrs. Doris Williams (my elementary teacher and principal)
Mrs. Mary Christy (my high school guidance counselor)
my Daddy