Mike Downey’s column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I promise not to reveal your reasons, unless they’re really bad reasons. It is OK to vote for Hitler if you must, but you must also remember to include the words: “He ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog.” Then I will personally veto the voters’ choices and vote in my own. Voters can nominate to me their personal choices for person of the century. John Wayne, Joe Louis, Louis Armstrong, Neil Armstrong, Nixon, Stalin, Marx, Lennon and McCartney. Kennedy, King, De Gaulle, Lenin, Franco, Hirohito, Mao, Eisenhower, Elizabeth, Lindbergh, Picasso, Gershwin, Salk, Rickenbacker, Hoover, Ruth, Pele, Jordan, in no discernible order. I can already guess some of the names we’ll be seeing. In voting that I believe will be accepted until November, the magazine is actually looking to determine the 100 Most Influential People of the Century. (And by the way, who’s going to finish fourth. It just goes to show you, what do I know about what it takes to become Person of the Century? I mean, what if Elvis wins? What will the editors of Time do if Presley beats out Hitler and Gandhi by a landslide in their poll? Gandhi brought people together and made great personal sacrifices to promote peace. Hitler murdered millions of people, overthrew nations and made an attempt to rule the Earth.
Now, I know that a lot of you out there are thinking the exact same thing that I’ve been thinking:Ī guitar-playing, hip-swaying, hair-spraying, ain’t-saying singer as the most influential individual of 100 years? The magazine is merely looking to single out the single most dominant presence of the 20th Century. Time is not out to tell the world that what Adolf Hitler did is more distinguished than what Franklin D. The trouble is that a Person of the Year is not necessarily a nice person. But the reality is that Time names a person who has the biggest impact on world events, for good or evil. Time usually names a man who has peaceful ambitions or has made great achievements in the name of mankind. They are letting Time know that they are opposed to the designated Hitler. As amazing as it seems that Adolf Hitler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Time Magazine went one step further. I can tell you this about what kind of feedback Time’s readers have been feeding back:Īs soon as it became apparent that the person designated as Person of the Century could turn out to be the worst person of the century, readers really got riled. They are merely looking for reader feedback. Survey results will be taken under advisement, but Time’s editors will make the final call. There is no use “stuffing the ballot box” for your favorite, because this is a poll, not an election. Neuman, Tiny Tim, Linda Lovelace, John Wayne Bobbitt, Dilbert, Barbie, Secretariat, Xena the Warrior Princess or newspaper columnists whose names begin with the letter D.Ī Web editor at Time said that as of last week, more than 23 million suggestions had been made for Person of the Century. Just no nominating Joey Buttafuoco, Squeaky Fromme, Alfred E. Give me your choice or your alternative choice. How do I choose between-taking the candidates in reverse order-a man who personified nonviolence, a man who personified hate and a man who sang the words, “You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog?” I don’t know about you, but I’m having a heck of a time making up my mind.