Who are the greatest?

[ConcKahuna]

As Feralpeg brought up in my other thread about evil, it's good to focus on...well good!

So who do you think are some of the greatest people currently alive? (Historical figures who really stand out can be mentioned as well of course!)

 

[SwedishMeatball]

Mother Theresa

 

[sweetandsassyfl]

Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, Princess Diana
currently alive - Bill and Melinda Gates

 

[John Smith1]

My Dad!

and MLKingJr.

 

[ConcKahuna]

I'll add Coretta Scott King to the list, she helped carry on Martin Luther King's fight for many years

And while many celebrities try to do good things, it's often just for publicity. One person who I think does a lot for a lot of people and doesn't get much credit these days is Cindy Lauper. She seems to be one of the few celebrity activists who actually cares about what she's speaking for.

 

[amyhughes]

Funny quote by Mother Theresa: "I couldn't get back to the pew to perform my penance without sinning again."

I guess why I agree with PP about her, is that she admitted she felt an absence of God while doing all of her work. That God had abandoned this area where she worked, and left her to toil there in his place. That a truly loving God would not allow his people to suffer so. That makes her in my mind even more deserving of sainthood. She continued her work, even though this darkness pervaded her in her later years.

 

[jw50]

It probably depends on how you define "great", and still alive does limit it significantly. But one that is still alive who has had a huge impact is James Watson, even if most people do not know who he is.

 

[amyhughes]

I think this list will be harder. Most that give so completely do so anonymously or under the radar. Also as a society the more notorious you are, the more famous. Unfortunately.

 

[starrzone]

There is a young man (in his 30s) in my city who has given so much to youth from low-income areas. He even ran as a city councillor in one of the poorest wards so that he could have a say in how to improve the area in general. I've seen him working with the youth at Saturday morning hockey, and volunteering as a chaperone at various city outings. I think people like him, who give their time and effort selflessly, definitely deserve the "greatest" title.

If we're talking about well-known people, that's a little harder. Since we don't know them, it's hard to say whether or not celebrities' motives are to do "good" or to garner more publicity for themselves. I'm not sure which living people I would consider "great"; I think anyone who works toward equality for all human beings is great.

 

[ConcKahuna]

I think this list will be harder. Most that give so completely do so anonymously or under the radar. Also as a society the more notorious you are, the more famous. Unfortunately.

I'm a big fan of the "Everyday Heroes". The folks who end up in a bad situation and do something great.

And another famous person I'll add is Gerhard Schröder.

 

[amyhughes]

I'll add Jane Goodall to the list!

 

[LuvOrlando]

-

 

[MontanaZoo]

Nelson Mandela
Dalai Lama
A lot of the ones previously listed.

I agree that most of the people I'd put on the list are not famous. Like we work with a guy at the zoo who lives locally at the end of our irrigation ditch system. His dogs always came home smelly from playing in the water so he wanted to find a way to clean it. He invented islands that float in the water that have plants/grass whatever growing on them and they purify the water. We use them at the zoo that I volunteer at for some of our exhibits and ponds and they're starting to be used internationally. Islands that grow plants that purify water, astounding worldwide water quality applications. He's already getting massive orders.

Another one is Jay Kirkpatrick. He runs the science and conservation center at our zoo. He has developed a contraceptive that can be used for wild animal populations by just darting the animals. It's natural, no side effects, the animal can live and have normal behaviors. Zoos all over the world use it plus a lot of urban populations to control things like deer in urban parks. They work with a preserve in South Africa to control the elephant populations.