Hey guys,
TIME magazine has come out with its annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people. People on the list range from political figures to scientists and from musicians to athletes… and they all are influential in the worlds they inhabit.
What does it mean to be influential? Influence is defined as the “capacity or power of a person, persons, or things to be a compelling force on the actions, behaviors, and opinions of others…” Using that definition, it would difficult to argue against the people included on this list. Whether or not you agree with them politically, or are fans of them if they are musicians or entertainers, these people definitely exert some sort of power over people.
Remember, this list is not about who are the most important people… (clearly the world could survive without Justin Bieber) the list discusses only how influential a person is… and right now there may not be anyone more influential to the teen music scene in this country.
The list includes the usual suspects like President Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the new face of the Republican Party Paul Ryan; but it also includes little known musicians like Tunisian rapper Hamada Ben Amore, better known as El General whose lyrics helped inspire the country’s revolution against former dictator Ben Ali.
The list includes actor Matt Damon, but not for his movie roles, but for his quest to educate people to the fact that every 15 minutes a child under the age of 5 from the lack of clean water; his creation of Water.org is helping to stop this alarming trend.
Also on the list is Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winning peace advocate from Burma. She has spent most of the last twenty years in some sort of political prison, yet still fights for basic human rights.
The list also includes controversial religious figures like Rob Bell who argues against the concept of Hell in Christian theology, and the American born terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki who now lives in Yemen and justifies acts of terror against the United States.
This list is filled with people you know and some amazing people you likely have never heard of… but is anyone missing? Take a few minutes, look at the list and try to come up with at least one person whom you feel is influential, but missing. (Remember to stick to the above definition of influence.)
Do you disagree with anyone who is on the list? Did TIME include someone who does not really influence actions or opinions?
What do you think?
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,2066367,00.html
I don't think I could really disregard anyones name on this list because I do feel they are all influential in some type of way. Just because I'm not a fan of all of them, and just because I don't agree with all of their actions doesn't mean they have influenced some people in some way. There are many diverse cultures and beliefs throughout our nation and therefore I believe that it would be very difficult to deny that any one of these people should not be on the list. In some way shape or form they have done something that has influenced some amount of people; and therefore deserve their spot.
ReplyDelete~Kelly Corrigan
I don't agree with the ordering of all of the people, but from what I see, everyone that's on the list deserves to be there.
ReplyDelete-Brandon Maxwell
I firmly believe that Time's argument as to why Justin Bieber should be on this list does not fit the title of "influential". They argue that his success and "raise to the top" was simply due to the fact that the R&B artist Usher had discovered him on youtube. Justin Bieber does not have a capacity of power, impact on people and has not made "compelling actions". He's no Nobel peace prize winner and probably doesn't even have a legitimate charity of his own. I STRONGLY believe that the list is erroneous.
ReplyDeleteI wish people such as Bono from U2 had made this list because despite the fact that I dislike both his and Justin Bieber’s music , Bono has raised millions of dollars for AIDS relief in Africa and for hunger as well.
Sorry, but as much as I dislike Justin Beiber, I suppose that he is one of the most influential people around today. I said it as a joke today, but, I guess, that it is true: Beiber is extremely influential to almost every, single thirteen-year old girl in the world. He, also, shows that pretty much anyone can rise to the top, regardless of the fact that Usher helped him. I cannot stand his music in the slightest, but, hey, I give him kudos for what he has been able to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteAs for who I think should be added, I cannot really think of anyone off of the top of my head, but I am sure that I eventually will. Everyone on the list, in my opinion, deserves to be there; and, yes, as I said before, that does include Justin Beiber. While it's odd to see Beiber's name anywhere near that of Aung San Suu Kyi, I have to say, this is a pretty well-done list.
-Jake M.