20th Century Heroes And Villains

The challenge from the Unpaid Punditry Corps this week was:

Who are your favorite political heroes and villains of the 20th century?

It's another one of those "wow, where do I start?" questions. Especially when you consider that so many political figures are shades of gray - Churchill was without a doubt a great stateman but then again he drank like a fish and made some very shaky decisions, such as the repatriation of Cossack soldiers to Russia after the war, where they were all promptly executed. So it's often a matter of "on balance". Try it - it's not as easy a task as you may think.

Anyway, here is my list of prime candidates.

Heroes:

Winston Churchill - without him, I honestly believe that Britain would have folded before Russia and the US could enter the war, with horrific results. A scholar and a statesman, we don't see many like him in history.

Nelson Mandela - Had some shaky parts to his early career, but is doubtless a great statesman who led his country out of darkness simply by being an example to all. The archetype of the arbitary division between a terrorist and a freedom-fighter.

Mahatma Gandhi - the man who ended the British Empire and at the same time showed Rev King and many others how to beat "The Man" without raising a fist.

Villains:

Margaret Thatcher - responsible for almost bankrupting Britain while she and her cronies treated the nation as their own private piggy-bank and pioneered the Right's politics of divisiveness, both of which have been adopted by her ideological offspring in the US Republican party now.

Adolph Hitler - well, yeah.

Josef Stalin - A meglomaniac despot who made it possible for the word "socialist" to be an insult in the US. NOT any kind of communist or socialist - just an asshole dictator using a cover story to dupe the populace. Still, for his own reasons, he saved the West's ass by beating two thirds of the German Army.

And the winners are: Churchill and Hitler, the thesis and antithesis of the struggle for democracy and freedom. Even so, I would like to make a special mention of Thatcher, who may still, via Karl Rove and George Bush, enmire the world in an even greater and needless conflict.

Who should I have mentioned? I already wish I had said something about Gorby and Reagan, the latter of whom stole the credit for the former's amazing vision.

Go on, give your own list - either here in comments, over at the UPC or on your own blog if you have one. It's harder than you may think.