One of the assertions is:
The title of world's greatest man has bounced back and forth between England and the U.S. for a while now: last half of the 18th century, George Washington; first half of the 19th century, the Duke of Wellington; second half of the 19th century, Abraham Lincoln; first half of the 20th century, Winston Churchill; second half of the 20th century, Ronald Reagan. But I very much doubt that the pattern will continue.Yes, exactly. The Duke of Wellington was greater than Napoleon Bonaparte. He not only beat Bonaparte's minions on the Iberian Peninsula and Bonaparte at Waterloo, he was also elected Prime Minister—rather than seizing the job like some usurper. And, he preserved English Common Law, rather than going with the Napoleonic Code.
Regards — Cliff
PS: Hat tip to Instapundit
Reagan???
ReplyDeleteI didn't have the slightest hesitation to accept the D of W, but, for me, "Ich bin ein Berliner" trumps "tear down this wall" every way to Sunday, including delineation of the battle lines that Ronnie found convenient from which to preside over the eventual V.
As for the first half of the 21st--it's pretty clear (to me anyway) that we're entering the sort of intractable swamp from which "greatest men" (or women) must arise, lest we all be subsumed by the calamities that are now in motion.