So, another war… We monkeys sure love those… As we love our leaders! Well, some of us do, anyway… So, I thought it might be a good time to make one of these lists about our enlightened luminaries. You have to be careful, though. Choosing the wrong one can be extremely hazardous to your health in all sorts of new and interesting ways. The problem is, of course, that we usually have to wait for history to tell us if they were good or bad. Usually…
Name: Adolf Hitler
Born/Dead: 20 April 1889, Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary / 30 April 1945, Berlin (age 56)
Dictator checklist: yes. Everything.
Followers: millions
Victims: millions
Achievements: built the Autobahn
History says: bad
Movie: Downfall (2004)
Name: Joseph Stalin
Born/Dead: 18 December 1878, Gori, Georgia / 5 March 1953, Moscow (age 75)
Dictator checklist: yes. Everything.
Followers: millions
Victims: millions
Achievements: industrialization of Russia
History says: bad
Movie: Burnt by the Sun (1994)
Movie: The Death of Stalin (2017)
Name: Mahatma Gandhi
Born/Dead: 2 October 1869, Porbandar, Kathiawar Agency, British Raj / 30 January 1948, New Delhi, India (age 78)
Followers: millions
Victims: none
Achievements: led India to independence through non-violent resistance
History says: good
Movie: Gandhi (1982)
Name: Martin Luther King Jr.
Born/Dead: 15 January, 1929, Atlanta, Georgia / 4 April 1968, Memphis, Tennessee (age 39)
Followers: millions
Victims: none
Achievements: advanced civil rights through non-violent activism
History says: good
Movie: Selma (2014)
Name: Pol Pot
Born/Dead: 19 May 1925, Prek Sbauv, Cambodia / 15 April 1998, Choam, Cambodia (age 72)
Dictator checklist: yes. Everything.
Followers: millions
Victims: millions
Achievements: Abolition of money, markets, and private property
History says: bad
Movie: The Killing Fields (1984)
Name: Jim Jones
Born/Dead: 13 May 1931, Crete, Indiana / 18 November 1978, Jonestown, Guyana (age 47)
Dictator checklist: yes. Almost everything.
Followers: 909
Victims: 909
Achievements: founded the People Temple
History says: bad
Movie: Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)
Name: Dalai Lama
Born/Dead: 6 July 1935, Taktser, Amdo / –
Followers: millions
Victims: none
Achievements: promotes peace and (spiritual) understanding worldwide
History says: good
Movie: Kundun (1997)
Name: Nelson Mandela
Born/Dead: 18 July 1918, Mvezo, South Africa / 5 December 2013 Johannesburg, South Africa (age 95)
Followers: millions
Victims: none
Achievements: led South Africa to the end of apartheid and national reconciliation
History says: good
Movie: Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
Name: Donald Trump
Born/Dead: 14 June 1946, New York, USA / –
Dictator checklist: Yes. Everything.
Followers: Millions
Victims: many hundreds, and counting…
Achievements: depends on who you ask
History says: not sure yet, but probably bad
Movie: just watch your screen…
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