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Help Nominate Rand as the Greatest American EVER!

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I already nominated her quite some time ago and I think I put Ayn Rand at the top, but now that I think about it Jefferson and Washington should be above her. These men directly laid the foundation for the greatest nation that ever existed.. the most free, individualistic, selfish, proud, and productive. I'd say that puts them at the top as far as greatest Americans are concerned. :)

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I already nominated her quite some time ago and I think I put Ayn Rand at the top, but now that I think about it Jefferson and Washington should be above her.  These men directly laid the foundation for the greatest nation that ever existed.. the most free, individualistic, selfish, proud, and productive.  I'd say that puts them at the top as far as greatest Americans are concerned. :)

I guess you and I are using different criteria to measure greatness. To me, being great as an American is a measure of to what degree you embody the central principles on which this nation was built. In that sense, Ayn Rand definitely trumps the founding fathers. They demonstrated many virtues which she did, but they did not demonstrate as unswerving a commitment to rationality as Ayn Rand did.

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I guess you and I are using different criteria to measure greatness. To me, being great as an American is a measure of to what degree you embody the central principles on which this nation was built. In that sense, Ayn Rand definitely trumps the founding fathers. They demonstrated many virtues which she did, but they did not demonstrate as unswerving a commitment to rationality as Ayn Rand did.

If it weren't for men like Washington and Jefferson, there might not have been such a thing as "American". Even if there were, the meaning of it and what it embodied would be diminished. Their deism hardly diminishes this and, in fact, I think it is very far from representing a significant flaw.

As a side-note to this: If this was the greatest American of the 20th century then I'd definately say Ayn Rand, it would be difficult for me to even find a comparison to make.

It seems now the nominations have been made and in less than 1 day they will be revealed. Then there will be a vote on these nominees for greatest American. There will be information presented on each nominee and, assuming Ayn Rand makes it, it will be interesting to see what "features" they have of her.

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If it weren't for men like Washington and Jefferson, there might not have been such a thing as "American".  Even if there were, the meaning of it and what it embodied would be diminished.  Their deism hardly diminishes this and, in fact, I think it is very far from representing a significant flaw.

Washington and Jefferson's achievement was indeed great and momentous, and if it wasn't for Ayn Rand, there would be no other close contenders to them for this title, but I still don't follow your reasoning. Your argument seems to me to be similar to saying that Adam was the greatest human being just because he was the first!

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Ayn Rand, herself, considered Aristotle the greatest man/philosopher to ever live. She considered him greater than herself, yet she believed he had flaws. The reason she considered him greater is because he laid the foundation for Western philosophy, just like I consider Washington and Jefferson greater because they laid a certain foundation. Adam, if he existed, didn't really lay a foundation for anything.

Washington and Jefferson's achievement was indeed great and momentous, and if it wasn't for Ayn Rand, there would be no other close contenders to them for this title, but I still don't follow your reasoning. Your argument seems to me to be similar to saying that Adam was the greatest human being just because he was the first!

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