100 Most Influential!?

Time magazine has published another one of those silly and meaningless lists some in the media occasionally and irritatingly compile to validate their self-importance. It is the 100 "most influential people in the world.’... Who on Time’s list fits the definition of "influential"? Not Tim Russert, who is a terrific interviewer, but how much influence could he have at 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning when millions are in church? "If it’s Sunday, it is Meet the Press" he signs off every week. No, if it’s Sunday, for more people than watch his program, it is church. Why is Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the list? Most of the world’s people don’t live in New York City, though on Friday afternoons while trying to escape by plane or car it sometimes seems that way. Maybe he’s influential because of the high taxes and high tolls over which he presides. Tony Blair?... George Clooney? Chris Rock?... Oprah Winfrey?... I wonder why Jesus of Nazareth never makes the list? Over 20 centuries, uncounted numbers have testified to changed lives upon meeting Him. Changing a life from what it was to something better is real influence, isn’t it? ... John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are on Time’s list of the most influential, but only the one who wins the election will have a chance to influence us. Even then, presidents only marginally influence our opinions, most of which we already hold before they are elected. Presidents rarely influence our actions or behavior, except when we don’t like what they do. Time’s newspaper ad says these "most influential people are changing the world and making history." Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie? I don’t think so.

—Cal Thomas