Who do you admire and why?

[karadan]

Thanks for the responses guys. There are some people you've listed i've not heard of before and am having a great time reading about. I'm going to the library later

I just thought of a few more people i admire.

Dame Ellen MaCarthur.

Sir Edmund Hillary.

I like the way the above two people do not have an 'off' button. The concept of giving up just doesn't apply to them. I can only be in awe of people who are able to push themselves so hard through force of will alone.

[uglyduckling]

Peter Mark Roget.

This guy WROTE the Thesaurus.  It's a mind-boggling achievement, if you try to imagine first conceiving of such a tome and then undertaking the task of creating it.

[Dries]

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

I second the Madiba vote.
Nelson Mandela was an amazing president and did so much good for this country when he could easily have done the complete opposite. He used his power responsibly and peaceably. I don't see SA having another president as awesome as him for many decades to come.

Viva Madiba

[cate]

Jon Stewart

I love this sense of humor, but even more so I adore his sincerity. Every once in a while, he does an interview with someone on an issue that is both complex and, to some degree, frustrating in how it's currently being dealt with. He manages to cut right down to the chase and ask just the right questions. And because he actually listens to the interviewee, he catches any bs in an instant. And he is so fast and witty to strike right back. I'm sure he has a great team, but he also has the kind of personality that he doesn't think himself to be oh so important. His interviews are about the interviewee, not about him. Unfortunately, that's what so many journalists, reporters, and interviewers lack these days.

[notself]

Jon Stewart was voted the most trusted newscaster in America.  Really strange for a comedian and it is a comment on the integrity of regular newscasters.  http://www.timepolls.com/hppolls/archiv ... s_417.html

[Adrian Simmons]

David Icke and Alex Jones. They're insightful, and great characters.

[Ihateyoumike]

There's this lady whom I work with named Rhonda. She has cancer. All I know about it is that it's colon cancer and it's pretty damn bad.

I bitch and moan at work about my ultimately minor inconveniences in my life, while I see her somehow keeping a positive outlook every day that she is able to work.

I admire the hell outta her right now.

[Pharaoh Cat]

Temple Grandin is a hero of mine.  So unyielding was her sense of self that she grabbed hold of her autism with her own two hands and by sheer strength of spirit and brilliance of mind she turned it into a super power.

Her web page: http://templegrandin.com/

[NHOJ]

Howard Zinn for a lifetime dedicated to advancing the cause of justice. Read "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train"

[Sweetdeath]

David Bowie. Period.
Without him as a staple and foundation for music and fashion, I don't know where me or a lot of my fav bands inspired by him would be. <3

[Too Few Lions]

Lee Hazlewood, for writing the most beautiful music I've ever heard, and for being a very lovely funny person

Ennio Morricone, for his amazing music too

Jonathan Meades for being very funny, intelligent and a vocal atheist.

[Sgtmackenzie]

Winston Churchill - a Take no prisoners attitude, common sense statesman and free thinker.

Robert Heinlein - A writer on par with the greatest of writers.   His writings and many of his characters encouraged free thinking.

Sgt Charles Stuart MacKenzie - Read his story here -->  http://www.scotlandhereandnow.com/2011/02/sergeant-mackenzie.html

[Gawen]

http://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=8901.0

[Light]

John Lennox, because he demonstrates to me in atheist/religion debates that you can speak intellectually about science, and even make it a career, but that doesn't mean you must abandon all your spiritual beliefs.

[Asmodean]

Through volunteering with Camp Quest Texas I have come across stories of children who have had to stand up for their lack of belief when mocked by their classmates...I admire those kids; standing up for yourself and not giving into pressure is very very hard for the youth (most adults can't even do it).

Yes, apart from opportunistic a-holes who don't pretend to be something they are not, those people are pretty much all that is left on The Asmo's list... Not counting personal acquaintances, that is.