December 4, 2012
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He Who Builds It
Recently I watched the History Channel’s The Men Who Built America. I was totally captivated by the entire six part series. It focused on five very powerful and influential men from the mid to late 1800s and early 1900s. The five were Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, John D Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbuilt. The series was fantastic and I learned a lot. I wound up having mixed feelings about all the men. Clearly they were important and vital to America becoming the power that it is today. But on the other hand, I got the sense that for the most part, they were generally not good men. They were nothing if not ruthless at times, however in the case of Carnegie and Rockefeller, they became very charitable later in life which does help redeem them in my book.
The series did get me to thinking though about our time. These men were legends who helped make America great. But what about now? Who are we going to remember and be talking about still in a hundred years or 150 years? My guess is that the Carnegies and Rockefellers of today are people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, even though he is dead. I’m quite certain there are more innovators out there that I can’t think of. Also I’m sure there are some people out there right now that we just simply have never heard of and who will someday, leave their mark on the world much in the same way Carnegie and Gates and all the others have. As important and influential as Gates and Jobs were, I still don’t think they were as important as the aforementioned five. I know a lot of people might think I’m crazy for saying that, but just think where we would be without steel, without cars, without railroads or perhaps most importantly, without electricity. Sure, Gates and Jobs have greatly helped to advance the tech society but is there even an internet without electricity?
Comments (4)
I didn’t watch that series, but I’ve seen shows about those guys. They certainly led interesting lives. I agree with you about their deeds being a mixed bag of good and bad. I compare them to all the very rich and influential people in history. The pharoahs built the pyramids using conscripted laborers: bad for the ill-treated laborers—-good for us. Some of the magnificent ancient buildings in Central and South America were used as platforms on which they performed greusome sacrifices. We’re thrilled with the remains—-the sacrificial victims were probably less impressed!
I definitely wouldn’t put Jobs or Gates at the top of my list. I think Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Theresa rank higher in terms of change. I don’t know though
@ShamrockLover - I would agree with you with regards to MLK and Mother Theresa. And Ghandi. Let’s not forget Ghandi.
Definitely Ghandi. Your next list should be the top 5 awful people of the century. Hitler is at the top of my list!!