Time gives out an annual title of person of the year to someone who did something above and beyond the call of duty or was noteworthy for some particular reason.
In the past year, there were many noteworthy people, incidents that brought out the best and worst in people, and the best that Time could come up with is Bono and Bill and Melinda Gates?
Here are a few more suggestions that got overlooked - and feel free to debate the merits in the comments:
Rafik Harari - his assassination spurred the Cedar Revolution and forced a reckoning for the Syrian occupation. Or, you could give it to the Lebanese people who stood against the assassins and want nothing but freedom from tyranny.
The US Armed Forces - I know they got props in the past, but they've had the terrorists on the run in Afghanistan and Iraq, and done so despite the media naysayers and certain members of the loyal opposition nipping at their ankles saying that they can't win the war in Iraq.
The Iraqi people - they're doing the real heavy lifting - voting despite the threat to life and limb by the insurgency/terrorists. And each successive election shows that the Iraqi people are getting it. Really getting it.
Ariel Sharon - the Israeli Prime Minister who pulled Israeli forces out of Gaza, along with the 9,000 settlers living there, and realigned the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The withdrawal threw the conflict into sharp contrast - those who wanted peace and think that land
Mother Nature - which time and time again reminds people that their power is insignificant when compared to the Force. Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Earthquakes. Floods. Millions displaced, thousands killed.
The American people - who come together in times of trouble and do what needs to be done. Whether it is arrange support for displaced persons from New Orleans, or doing food/supply drives for the victims of the South Asian tsunami, their generosity comes forth. 99% of Americans don't have the kind of wealth that the Gates family has, and yet they donated a greater portion of their net wealth to charitable causes. And they do it unquestioningly and without fanfare.
Apparently I'm not alone in thinking that Time's choices were, ummm, lame. So did a lot of folks. This happens every year, but if you're going to honor generosity, how about the millions of people who donated billions of dollars to help with the relief efforts in South Asia after the tsunami of December 26, 2004 or the hurricanes in the Gulf Coast, or the South Asian earthquake that devastated Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kashmir.
Of course, the whole point of these lists and publications is to spur magazine sales and get people buzzing about the magazine. Has it worked? Or, more to the point, has this choice enlightened anyone into doing more for their fellow person? Have they done something so special this year that their actions should be recognized or is this Time's version of the lifetime achievement award?
Others blogging: Michelle Malkin, Captain Ed, Laurence Simon (who slams Time's notable people list that includes Geena Davis), Ed Driscoll, The Right Nation, Unpartisan.com, Stop the ACLU, Joe's Dartblog, Democracy Project, Bizzyblog, the Political Pitbull
UPDATE:
Ann Althouse is jealous, Betsy's Page wonders if anyone has given serious thought to whether all that charitable aid and foreign aid has done any good or it actually hinders economic and political development, Poliblogger, the Political Teen, the Reaction's reaction is underwhelming. Urban Grounds thinks that Time has become Rolling Stone magazine. Gay Patriot thinks that the unlikely voters (Afghans, Palestinian Iraqis, or Lebanese). Don Surber adds his usual wit, but it's the photo that does it for me. She, and the millions of other Iraqi voters should have won. Hands down. Even Joe Biden got behind that idea. This Must Be The Place critiques the cover. EU Referendum notes the triviality of the whole enterprise in the first place. Bitter Shrew complains about Malkin's comments about Melinda Gates' being named in the same breath as her husband. Good point.
An even better point would have been that neither of these people should have been named, let alone won the honorific. Hubris at INDC Journal congratulates Bono, though the circumstances are shrouded in mystery.
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