If an alien spaceship ever openly approaches the Earth, all of the music stations all over the world need to play Beethoven's 9th. All. Of. Them.

Whilst the politicians dither, this can be the message of the People of Earth to the Cosmos - our brightest and best and most hopeful face turned outward.

Jan

You're welcome! I'll sometime soon set up a Facebook page for Human Achievement.

Thanks! Let's spread this meme in our culture to counter the pessimism.

Thanks Mike! Get your friends to share the link on Facebook!

All of these are on the top of the list. And there are many literal lists in Charles Murray's excellent book "Human Accomplishment," which i link to at the end of my article. Murray puts Aristotle at the top of philosophers. A agree with him completely!

The great thing about human achievement is that it has, in the words of one of my subtitled, endless potential! Check out the link at the end of my piece to the book "Abundance." The Declaration of Independence on July 4 fades in many minds but we celebrate it as a reminder and, hopefully, for renewal of its meaning. I'm confident that some day thousands of residents of the Moon will visit the Apollo 11 landing site to remember where it all started the same way many today visit Independence Hall!

Right you are! By the way, I link at the end of my piece to Charles Murray's excellent book on Human Accomplishment, which reviews arts as well as science and technology. It's a look at the Galt's Gulch islands in the real world, which we must work to expand to the whole world! http://www.amazon.com/Human-Accomplis...

How about individual achievement day as well? Aristotle's metaphysics, Locke's Essay, and Rand's Atlas are individual achievements which are the greatest human triumphs.

Human Achievement Day Sounds Inspiring. I´d recall things like Mussorgsky´s Night On Bald Mountain or Pictures At An Exhibition, all of Tchaicovsky´s work, and also Stravinsky. No doubt Mozart, Beethoven, Haendel, Chopin and other music geniusses, as well as Benjamin Franklin; Einstein, Nietzche, Plato, Ayn Rand, Muhammad Ali, Manny Pacquiao, Lionel Messi, Juan Román Riquelme, Pelé, Maradona; Air Jordan, Babe Ruth; Rösen, Favaloro, Napoleon, etc etc etc. So many greats, like da Vinci, Michealangello, Dalí, etc. Must all be recognized with this date, of international stature !

Lunar Landing Day kind of fades into antiquity compared with other great achievements of mankind that have really done things for us all. Landing on the moon is a nice technological achievement, but its not of a lot of practical significance in itself.

Human Achievement Day! Great Idea!

Nicely said, Dr. Hudgins. "Achievement Day" should become a real annual event.

Thanks for the inspiration, Edward!