If you could bring back 5 people from the dead, whom would you choose?

[The Straight Story]

You can include relatives, loved ones, etc, but try to make it a fair split of people you have known and those you would think it interesting to bring back that maybe you never knew.

1. My mom
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. Martin Luther King Jr - Both he and TJ above, would be interesting to see their take on things now
4. Hitler - just so I could shoot him a few times. After I ask him about bush...
5. Moses

Many others of course, and I have not really given it much thought (except mom of course). Would probably toss out #4 and say instead my X wife, not for me but for my kids' sake as I am sure they miss her a lot.

[panader0]

1. Stevie Ray Vaughn

[DemocraticBassPlayer]

49. Musical Giants...all

(1). Jaco Pastorius...RIP Brother
(2). John Coltrane
(3). Miles Davis
(4). Bill Evans
(5) Thelonious Monk

[RB TexLa]

2. No one anyone on DU would know, they are all members of my family n/t

[cynatnite]

3. here's mine:

my stepdad
my cousin
Benjamin Franklin
Chief Joseph
Edward R Murrow

[madokie]

52. I like your first choice being a stepdad and all

my stepsons will remember me as a person that never changed the rules but also learned from my mistakes and was quick to change when wrong.

[cynatnite]

53. My stepdad was an incredible and loving man...

he stood up against his family for me and my sister. He treated us like his own.

It's been almost seven years since he died and I miss him so much.

[madokie]

54. Sorry, i'd miss him too.

My dream all my life was to be a step dad, why i don't know. I can say one thing it is the most rewarding thing i have ever done.

[happyslug]

4. Here are my Five

1. Jesus Christ, just to have him shut the Right wing Preachers up.
2. William Jennings Bryan, for the Right wing to see again as see what a PROGRESSIVE Fundamentalist can be.
3. Thomas Jefferson, to have a discussion on the Politics of ideas and the Politics of Reality.
4. Clausewitz, just for him to tell Bush any idiot could have foreseen the debacle in Iraq.
5. The Gracchi (either one) to tell us what happened to Rome is happening to us and unless we revolt against bush and Company (Revolt as in Voting them out) we are doom to the 600 years of Tyranny that Rome Became with their deaths.

On The Gracchi:
http://heraklia.fws1.com/contemporaries/gracchi/

For more on Tiberius Gracchus:
http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/tiberius.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius_Gracchus

For more in his Brother Gaius (Or sometime printed as Caius):
http://www.bostonleadershipbuilders.com/plutarch/caiusgracchus.htm


On their Mother (and daughter to Scipio Aficanius):
http://www.barca.fsnet.co.uk/cornelia-africanus.htm

On Clausewitz:
http://www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/CWZBASE.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_von_Clausewitz
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/clausewitz/biography.htm

On Bryan:
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Bryan-Wi
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAbryan.htm
http://www.boondocksnet.com/ai/ail/bryan.html
(Includes many of his Speeches against Imperialism)
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/bryan/silver_1
(Lost to McKinley 7.1 Million Votes to Bryan's 6.5, through McKinley only outspend Byran 20-1)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Jennings_Bryan

[XOKCowboy]

27. To contiune your idea I'd like Jefferson back to talk to Scalia...

and slap him around a little both physically and intellectually about the friggin' Constitution.

[happyslug]

61. Jefferson was a master of both Ideas and Reality.

That is both Jefferson's Greatness and his Weakness. This is best seen in the fact he both opposed Slavery, but owned Slaves and NEVER freed any of his slaves. Like a lot of Virginia Aristocrats of his time period he was Mortgaged to the Hilt including his slaves, thus during most of his life he could NOT free a slave even if he wanted to. He was thus not only a beneficiary of Slavery but also kept in "Chains" by the wealth the Slaves represented to him (His various efforts to improve mankind and his own home and to live the "Good life" meant he had to shop in London or Paris and they demanded guarantees he would pay, and that Guarantee was that fact he had Slaves the shop owners could have sold if Jefferson did not pay his bills, or force jefferson to sell a slave or two to pay his debts as Jefferson did in the 1790s).

In many ways, the reality of his situation forced him to curb his ideas and made him a more effective politician (Which is one of the Reason his Opponents hated him, he was as good as them in day to day art of Politics, but with his knack for ideas superior to them when it came to expressing what the Country wanted to be).

The Next two Dominate Politicians in American History (Jackson and Lincoln) shows how well Jefferson balance Idea and Reality. Jackson was much more a hands on politician than Jefferson and much less an Idea man, thus Jackson Ideas were Jefferson's implemented by a master Politician. Lincoln was also a master hands on Politician, but had an excellent grasp of the importance of Ideas. Lincoln used both his Political Instincts and understanding of Ideas to hole the US together in the Civil War. Lincoln would at times trample on some ideas to preserve the Union (Lincoln was NOT called a Tyrant with just cause).

After Lincoln, we have period of Political hacks till we come to William Jennings Bryan, who again brought the importance if Ideas back to Political arena. Bryan could not get elected (when your opponents outspend you 20 to 1 and you still get over 45% of the vote, its shows you how important ideas can be) but Bryan brought back the concept that a President has to be one of Ideas not just a Political Hack (In many ways Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Agenda was an attempt by the GOP to retain their Supporters for none of TR's progressive acts would have passed without the GOP Congress looking over their Shoulders at the prospect of a Bryan presidency).

With Bryan's Death in 1924, Franklin Roosevelt took up the torch of combining Politics and Ideas. FDR used them extensively throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Most of his acts had first been Advocate by Bryan, but to get them enacted the Democrats had to win (And by the time the Country was willing to give up on the GOP, Bryan was long in his grave, but attacked even then by people who hated his agenda of helping others).

Truman is more of the School of Jackson than Bryan (i.e. more of a man implementing a very good policy of a predecessor than any new Policies of his own). Thus the next president who president ideas by Lydon Baines Johnston (LBJ). LBJ's Great Society program was the largest attempt at improving the US ever. The Great Society can be traced back to FDR, but it went the extra mile that even Truman knew the Country had to go (and the GOP opposed). Nixon had no Ideas as did Ford. Carter was another Truman and jackson, implementing the programs of his predecessor more than coming out with new ideas on his own (Through Carter's Energy Policies were years ahead of his successors).

Give the devil his due, Reagan knew the importance of Ideas and used them extensively (His Evil Empire Speech, his claim not to blame him for the unemployment that occurred prior to his watch etc). Reagan understood that people want to hear ideas, they are support a leader who stands for something even if it is wrong (For Example the Germans following Hitler). Subsequent to Reagan, none of our President have been people of Ideas (and that includes both Bushes and Clinton). In many ways I compare today (i.e. since 1980) like 100 years before (i.e. 1880s and 1890s) a period of Political Hacks with no Ideas who are willing to spend whatever it takes to defeat anyone with ideas.

This gets us back To Jefferson, the Democratic Party needs someone with Ideas. We had Jefferson in the arly 1800s, Bryan in the Early 1900s, FDR in the 1930s and 1940s and LBJ in the 1960s, who is our idea man today? Clinton is not, nor is Hillary. On the other hand I think Dean is. Dean has Ideas and has that balance between understanding the power of Ideas AND the ability to accept political reality. Dean is attack by Republican more than any other Democrat for the Same Reason Bryan, FDR, Truman and LBJ were attacked, the GOP Fear Dean more than any other Democrat.

[Selatius]

5. Gandhi, Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr., Eugene Debs, and Mikhail Bakunin

Debs was a prominent American socialist who was ultimately victimized and imprisoned by Woodrow Wilson under the Sedition/Espionage Acts, and Bakunin is considered the "father" of modern day anarchism or left libertarianism who argued with and challenged Karl Marx' methodology with respect to achieving socialism.

[oldtime dfl_er]

6. my five

1. My sister who died of breast cancer
2. Jiddu Krishnamurti, whose work will never be done
3. George Harrison
4. JFK
5. Thomas Jefferson

[C_U_L8R]

7. The Boyfriend that Laura Bush Killed

in her auto accident.

They could have gotten married and
the rest of us would be living happily ever after.

[FreedomAngel82]

8. Interesting post

Off the top of my head-

1)My grandfather- I still miss him very much (he'll be dead a year this July) and I know my other family does too and it'd be so nice to see him again face to face instead of dreams and as a spirit so I could hug him.

2) Thomas Jefferson- I'd just love to meet him.

3) John Kennedy- :loveya: I just love him and I'd love to know what happened to him when he died.

4) George Orwell- I'd love to ask him what he was smoking when he wrote "1984" and if it was a warning or not.

5) My great-grandmother from my dad's side- I would love to see her again too.

[DBoon]

9. Jimi Hendrix, Bertrand Russell, John Lennon, D. Boon, Aldous Huxley

nt

[Erika]

10. OK

Ghandi, MLK, RFK, JFK, John Lennon

[The_Casual_Observer]

11. They probably ought to stay dead & make room for new ones.

[juajen]

12. Ok, I'll play

1. Mom, of course.
2. My brother.
3. Peter Jennings
4. Get of Heaven Free card for Willie Nelson (May he never die)
5. John F. Kennedy, Jr.

[in_cog_ni_to]

13. My dad, my brother, Paul Wellstone, FDR, and Johnny Carson.

Carson made me laugh like no one ever has. I could use some good laughs these days. I was crushed when he retired and very sad when he died. So, for the laughs.....Carson.:)

[sandnsea]

14. JFK, MLK, RFK

Because this country isn't listening to anybody else.

[Trillo]

15. Don't mean to be a party pooper, but I suppose that's what it is.

I would not choose to bring anyone back here, ever. I'd want them to continue their rest in peace, instead of demanding with God-like authority that particular individuals experience the tyranny of life all over again.

[seabeyond]

16. i would always take my mom first. einstein, i think he was like my

son. i would really like to jsut sit and watch him, listen to him, feel is energy and oddity. of course hitler to look him in hte eye and tell him what a itsy bitsy teeney weeney he has. ghandi. just sit with, in peace, not talk

[JWS]

17. Strom Thurmond, Richard Nixon, etc...

After all, what's the point of having the power if you don't abuse it?

[GaYellowDawg]

18. I wish you'd said 10.

I'd like to bring all of my grandparents back. And 2 great-aunts who were just like grandmothers.

Since I can't have that, I'll just name 5 famous people, in order.

1. Jesus. I'd love to see him be the liberal that he was, and perhaps to smite a few televangelists (moneychangers) while he was at it.

2. Thomas Jefferson - so that he could wipe the floor with all the neocons and Republicans who abuse and lie about the Constitution.

3. Benjamin Franklin - because in an age of intellectual giants in America, he still stood out. A genuine polymath. I think he'd love the advances in science. I also think that with the plain speaking he was capable of, he'd outframe Karl Rove so hard that he'd be permanently known to history as "Franklin's bitch" instead of "Bush's brain."

4. Martin Luther King, Jr. - because America is in desperate need of a conscience like his that is tied to almost unmatched oratorical skills.

5. Teddy Roosevelt - because I'd love to see a famous Republican go after giant corporations instead of getting into bed with them.

[spuddonna]

19. FDR, JFK, MLK, Einstein, &Tesla n/t

[mikita]

20. It's interesting how few women are mentioned....

so for me it's:

1. My kid sister
2. My sweet dog Boots, who was a person to me
3. Janis Joplin

That would be enough for me. What a party.....

[selmo7]

23. Mary Magdalene! Joan of Arc! Harriet Tubman!

and yes I like the idea of Nikola Tesla, Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy.

[The Straight Story]

31. My mom was #1 :)

And always will be.

The rest are for entertainment value.

[gunsaximbo]

21. MLK, Jefferson (not George), JFK, RFK, Benny Hill

[Betsy Ross]

22. To help us today, my choices would be:

Ben Franklin
Franklin Rooseveldt
Albert Einstein
Thomas Jefferson
Moses

[northofdenali]

24. This one takes some thought!

I'd have to go with my dad (he died during Reagan I, and I think it was Reagan being elected that did it); he was a lifelong dem and could cuss with the best of us. After him:

2. JFK
3. Jesus
4. John Lennon (now, wouldn't the Jesus/John meeting be a hoot?)
5. Gandhi

[BlooInBloo]

25. The last five US soldiers to die in Iraq.

Yah, there are jillions of folks who deserve to be brought back. I choose those five.

If you give me 6 to bring back, I'll choose the last 6 to die. And so on.

[XOKCowboy]

26. Frank Zappa, Bill Hicks, Lowell George, John Lennon &....

my grandpa. Grandpa for selfish reasons.

[Initech]

28. Frank Zappa, Bill Hicks, Richard Pryor, MLK Jr, and John F Kennedy

All 5 are voices we badly need right now.

[PFunk]

29. My choices are (In no specific order)....

1. MLK-need a great speaker and someone which can unite people of all races.
2. Malcolm X (post Mecca version)-someone who can speak hard truth to those unwilling to listen.
3. Bill Hicks-In my opinion the white man's Malcolm X-only with humor
4. D. Eisenhower (sorry for the misspelling)- the only republican pres worth respecting (besides Teddy). He warned us of having a military industrial complex.
5. FDR-He got us out of one depression and established those 'safety net' programs which brought us the middle class. Maybe he can get use out of the one coming up. And save the those programs.

Honorable mentions
6. Smedly Butler- Warned us of what now the military has now become.
7. Willie Nelson- Not dead but if anyone deserves a second chance it's him.

[ristruck]

30. My picks

I will skip the obvious family members and focus on historical figures.

1. Martin Luther King
2. Elenor Roosevelt
3. Winston Churchill
4. Albert Einstein
5. Thomas Jefferson

[progressivebydesign]

32. RFK, JFK, Jimi Hendrix (so he could realize his talent), Grandma, Ghandi

I think that's the short list. Louis Armstrong, cuz he seemed like a sweet soul. There are so many sweet souls that left us too soon... Dana Reeve and Christopher Reeve come to mind.

[TankLV]

33. My Mom, Dad, Grandmothers, Uncle and Aunts.

More than 5.

We had a very large close extended family - it's a sadder and different world without them.

Never thought it would seem like they all would go at once - especially since my one Grandmother lived to be over 102!

I thought I would have everybody around for an equally long time.

[Bluebear]

34. Your mom, Minnie Riperton, Barbara Jordan, Divine & Ryan White

Just the first 5 who came to my head!

[Cats Against Frist]

60. Divine -- FUCK YEAH

I would have to make room for Divine on my list.

[debbierlus]

35. Jesus - so he could tell all the hypocritical right wing nuts to shut up

And, stop using his name to do everything he detests.

One of the founding fathers - so they could tell the Republicans they are traitors.

[ChristianLibrul]

36. Nixon

So he could spend the last 20 years of his miserable, diseased life in prison where he belonged.

[Zinfandel]

37. JFK John Lennon, Paul Wellstone, MLK & RFK all killed by these same

neocons in complete control of our country and global domination!

[enigmatic]

38. 5

Charles Bukowski

http://www.jaydougherty.com/bukowski/index.html

Tommy Douglas

http://www.weyburnreview.com/tommydouglas/welcome.html

Bill Hicks

http://www.billhicks.com/

Nellie McClung

http://timelinks.merlin.mb.ca/referenc/db0003.htm

J. Krishnamurti

http://www.jkrishnamurti.org/

[Yollam]

39. Wow - interesting question.

1. My wife's mom - she was taken too soon and was all alone when she died.
2. John Kennedy
3. Martin Luther King
4. My grandmother. I just miss her.
5. Jesus - so he could tell all those bible thumping nuts that he was just a man and not a messiah, and that he had brought a message that they have COMPLETELY FREAKING REFUSED TO LEARN over the last 2000 years.

[FrenchieCat]

40. George Washington....so that he wouldn't have to continue

turning over in his grave based on what America has become.

John Kennedy Jr. -- so that he could run for President in 2008.

MLK Jr. -- so that he could tell Bush that he really wasn't welcomed at his Wife's funeral.

My Grandmother -- So I could get to know her.


Malcom X -- Maybe he could show us how the real revolutionaries did it.

[The Straight Story]

41. Kennedy Jr would whip a** against the rethugs! (nt)

[O.M.B.inOhio]

42. Jesus, Mohammed, Fred Rogers, Mother Jones, and Genghis Khan

Jesus
Mohammed
Fred Rogers
Mother Jones
Genghis Khan (provided he'd be resurrected in the White House, well armed)

Now, if any of them didn't exist or declines the invitation to return to Earth, I'd love to have on deck Dr. King, Ben Franklin, Sam Adams, Tom Jefferson, James Madison, Elizabeth Cady Stanton...

[laylah]

43. My choices would be

1. my parents
2. Sacajewea (sp?)
3. Kennedy brothers
4. Chief Joseph ("I will fight no more forever")
5. Sojourner Truth

[Libby2]

44. All family

My mom, dad, sister, FIL, BIL.

[Behind the Aegis]

45. hmmm....

1. My Aunt Becky. On March 15, 2004 she crossed over and I miss her so much.
   
2. Harvey Milk -- I'd like to see how far he could have gone!
   
3. Yitzak Rabin -- We need his guidance!
   
4. MLK, Jr (if that also included the recently passed Coretta, so they could be together again here)
   
5. Madeline Kahn -- she can always make me laugh -- sometimes I really need that. Thank G-d for video!

Of course, I'd only ask for this if that is what they wanted.

[rucky]

46. Paul Wellstone ('08!), Jesus, Ben Franklin, MLK, RFK n/t

[fknobbit]

47. Aside from family

Voltaire, FDR, G. Orwell, Wellstone, and Alan
Colmes

[immoderate]

48. Jesus already had his chance.

My picks:

Sam Kinison
Fred Astaire
Ben Franklin
John Lennon
Duke Ellington

--IMM

[CornField]

50. Have you not seen Pet Cemetery?

"I've already played with Mommy. Now I want to play with you."

Seriously, I think, instead of wondering which dead folks we should force back, we should be wondering why we don't seem to have public figures of similar make-up today. Where is today's Martin Luther King Jr.? Maybe we should start nurturing our children to become those leaders we so admire.

[The Straight Story]

55. Maybe we don't have them because they were killed

between bush's war, gang violence, drunks with cars or guns, etc I am often wondering how many potential peace makers/statesmen(or stateswomen) are killed each day (or lost to meth, child abuse scars, etc and so on).

Then again, maybe some like that are here, just no one cares to listen.

[Minnesota Libra]

51. John Kennedy nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

56. Gandhi, Tolstoy, Beethoven, Shakespeare, and Picasso.

I would hope the reasons why are obvious.

[lectrobyte]

57. Einstein. Mark Twain. Ben Franklin. Bill Hicks. Jesus Christ.

I picked Jesus, because I'd sure love to hear his opinion of this ground crew he's got now straight from the horse's mouth.

[Lorien]

58. Gandhi, Jesus, MLK, John Lennon and Mozart

All those peacemakers could whip the world into shape-and Mozart, well, because dying at 35 when you're that brilliant just isn't right!

[Cats Against Frist]

59. Thomas Jefferson, Frank Zappa, Michael Foucault

Jesus Christ (if there was one), and any one of RFK, JFK or JFK jr.

[maveric]

62. My Mom, My Dad, Bill Hicks, Paul Wellstone, Frank Zappa.

All outspoken lefties who would be talking up a storm about the bu$h crime family.

on edit. Honorble mention:
Jesus
JFK
RFK
MLK
Phil Hartman

[Rocknrule]

63. Jesus, MLK, JFK, Jefferson, and Winston Churchill

so they could put W in his place and save us all

[DireStrike]

64. My grandfather, Thomas Jefferson, FDR, Kennedy... and Jesus!

My grandfather is the only one close to me who has died, I'm lucky. And young.

I'm not particularly religious but I'd like to talk to Jesus.

TJ, FDR, and JFK could probably help fix the country. Or maybe not.

[buckettgirl]

65. Elvis...

Elvis
John Lennon
My step-son (he died at 2 months old - he would be 8 this year)
John Candy
JKF

[jmowreader]

66. I'll take a stab...

Paul Wellstone; no amplification needed here

A great inventor. My choice is Oskar Heil, who invented the field-effect transistor. Thomas Edison would be a close second. There's too much incremental engineering going on today--taking something we already have and making it better. Edison and Heil invented new things. We need that.

A great social reformer. MLK would be fine.

George Washington Carver. We have a food problem--namely, supply equity. Lots of people don't have enough food, or enough good food. Probably the same number have too much food. I would love to turn George Washington Carver loose on this problem, because he'd fix it.

And finally, Audrey Hepburn--but only if we can get her from the era when she made Breakfast at Tiffany's. Audrey Hepburn had both beauty and class. That's a rare combination anymore.

[ReaderSushi]

67. Can I bring myself back five times?

If not I'll reserve all five for loved ones.

If they must be presently dead, then:

1) Isaac Newton
2) Charles Darwin
3) Edwin Hubble
4) Linus Pauling
5) Kurt Godel