For release: 12/16/25
The (non-Christmas) lists
By Cal Thomas
Tribune Content Agency
‘Tis the season. No, not that season. It’s the season for end-of-year lists.
Time magazine, which, like so much in print journalism has suffered from a loss of readers, has published its annual list called the “most influential people of 2025.” The list includes “Artists, Innovators, Titans, Icons, Leaders, and Pioneers.” Time’s “Person of the Year” is Artificial Intelligence. That might also apply to Congress.
Most of the people Time considers influential I have never heard of, so they haven’t influenced me. Maybe it’s a generational thing.
You may be wondering (I was) how Time defines “influential”? Here it is: “The word influence is derived from an ancient astrological term describing the power of the stars to affect the destiny of human beings. The definition has changed a bit over the centuries, but influence remains a mysterious force and a difficult one to measure.” All together now as we sing “The Age of Aquarius.” May the Force be with you.
Time’s definition of influence begs the question: if the meaning keeps changing and is difficult to measure, what’s the point of publishing the list?
I put together my own (partial) list of people who have influenced me. Readers can likely identify and may have additions of their own.
A teacher whose knowledge and enthusiasm for a subject creates that desire for knowledge in a student (my American University history professor, Bill Cromwell, and books by David McCullough and Stephen Ambrose, among others)
An artist who creates and shares beauty (Julie Andrews). You can still find our interview on YouTube.
A writer who, by the power of his or her argument, sometimes causes me to think differently or understand their reasoning (Frank Rich when he was an opinion columnist with the New York Times and Maureen Dowd who still is. Also, Henry Louis Gates Jr. and his profound PBS series on race and Reconstruction).
An orator (where have you gone?) who can speak without notes, but with deep convictions that causes even people who might disagree with his/her positions to respect them and the way they communicate (the late Paul Harvey, Rush Limbaugh and Margaret Thatcher).
A mother who chooses to stay home with her children while they are young rather than putting them in daycare (mine).
A husband who is faithful to his wife and puts her needs before his own, thus getting what he couldn’t get by putting himself first.
The unsung, including the volunteer, who goes into prisons and builds relationships with inmates to help them lead a better life when they are released.
The pregnancy help centers that tell women who have unplanned pregnancies the truth about their unborn children and persuade them to parent or place them in adoptive homes.
The organizations that offer scholarships for children in failing public schools to attend private schools where they will receive a real education (The Children’s Scholarship Fund).
The pastor who is not associated with a mega church but works tirelessly to lead his congregation with financial and moral integrity (whom the media ignore as they focus only on those few who commit sexual or monetary sins).
For the person who has “everything” and you don’t know what to give them: If any on my list fit any on your list, give them a present this Christmas season that will never lose its value. Tell them how much they have meant to you and how they have positively influenced your life.
Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).
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