Favorite Character in Amer. History!!

Yes, there is truth to that, although I thought it was removed (I may be wrong though). I will be there this weekend, and I will post a picture. [I am actually moving downtown.]

I will be in touch,

BiR

 

Kayla--

"GREAT" (just as BEAUTY) is in the eyes/mind of the beholder.

What may be considered as "GREAT" to you at your age, may not be considered as "GREAT" to someone else.

This isn't a personal reflection on you or your age, either, nor do I know the first thing about playing a guitar.

I consider you as a friend even though I've never met you (and probably never will in this life). Would to God that there were more teenagers with the maturity and discernment that you seem to have in many areas of life.

'Nuf said.

 

Exactly how many lives did that *%^$#@&%$&$* save? Tell me, then we'll do arithmetic.

 

Alcott, Sherman waged war the way war should be raged. The goal of war is to win, not play patsy. If the burning of Atlanta was necessary to end the conflict, then I would have burned Savannah also just for emphasis.

War is hell.

 

If "winning" is the only test of how to wage war, then it would seem to me nukes should be used as soon as possible to end it quickly and decisively. There should be nothing holding us back.

Consider though the words of Robert Dabney: "It is only the atheist who adopts success as the criterion of right."

 

Vietnam should prove beyond any doubt what happens when you don't try to win the conflict.

Btw, you think Japan got the message?

 

Ah, yes: moral relativism - the ends justify the means...............

<switching topics>

Monergist:
My apologies, as I didn't make it down to the site. If it is still there, it is at the Visitor Center @ the old Tredegar Iron Works. I will try again next weekend. I am actually moving downtown so my new place will not be that far from where it stands, if it in fact still does.

 

I thinhk Japan came to the conclusion that peace with American dominance was preferable to the consequences. I don't know that the NV would have ever come to that conclusion.

The statement about not trying to win in Vietnam is a common belief on our side, I don't think I've ever heard it expressed by the Vietnamese. I think those who endured the napalm or the carpet bombing or being forcibly removed from their homes in order for their village to be burned would find it amusing - in a black humor sort of way. Those who witnessed the bombing of Hanoi probably got the impression we were trying to win. Rambo wasn't really there . This is the same war that made the phrase "we must destroy the city in order to save it" a part of American legend.

So, I wonder if it was really not trying to win or if we were just using the wrong methods....back to the same point.

One of the greatest (possibly the greatest) strategist of history, Belisarious, tried to demonstrate the importance of not bringing an enemy to desperation. In the west, I don't think he ever found many listeners.

 

Monergist:

As of March 1 (sorry for the delay) I could not find the statue. I live almost directly across the river from where it should be, and didn't see it.

BiR

 

Thanks for the link.
Yes, I know where the statue is supposed to be: like I said, I live directly across the James River from it. I cannot, however, seem to locate the statue. That is, unless I have to pay the admission fee, and I haven't had the time to go in there and really take some time to visit.

Hope you are doing well,

BiR

 

As a member of the extended Madison family, thanks for all the support to Uncle James.

For those that might be confused on the issue, both John Sevier and Sam Houston were Virginians by birth.

As for a personal favorite, I don't have one. Though I am partial to FDR and Harry Truman in politics. John Leland in the world of religion. Edison in the world of science.

There are several who turned the path of the nation to some degree or another, some for good, some for ill. Many of these already mentioned in the thread above.

 

My top five that I'd like to have dinner with:

1) Muhammad Ali
2) Ronald Reagan
3) Andrew Johnson
4) John Adams
5) Bill Clinton

 

Gosh I cannnot think of any, but hey that is because I am not an American I guess, but there are a number of ordinary living Americans I would love to have over for dinner and they are on this Board......

 

My top five would be:
1. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson
2. George Patton
3. Theodore Roosevelt
4. Bobby Knight
5. Bruce Springsteen

 

Booker T. Washington
Abraham Lincoln
James Monroe
George W. Bush
Ulysses S. Grant
Billy Graham

 

Ronald Reagan
Richard Nixon
George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
James A.Garfield