Was history made?

December 31, 2008 By 6 Comments

The election of Barack Obama and the financial meltdown are clearly events that will go down in history. Usually, though, it’s hard to say from near to the time what will prove to have lasting significance. Looking back on 2008, what events, people, ideas, trends, etc., do you think will be considered historic when scholars study our times decades from now? Or, put another way, for what will 2008 be remembered?

Filed Under: History 6 Comments
About Gene Veith

Professor of Literature at Patrick Henry College, the Director of the Cranach Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary, a columnist for World Magazine and TableTalk, and the author of 18 books on different facets of Christianity & Culture.

  • Kirk

    I think that the election of Obama is the big story from 2008. Whether or not he proves to be a good president, Obama will be remembered as the first black man to hold the executive office. The financial meltdown will be remembered, but it won’t be our second great depression (that is, as long as things don’t get worse). I think it’ll have similar notoriety to the economic downturn during the Carter years.

    Other big events: 2008 Lions will go down as the worst team in NFL history and Seattle will be recognized as having the worst sports year in history.

  • Manxman

    2008 – The year that the Republican Party dug itself a hole so deep that it may take years to regain any credibility and have any influence to speak of. (Hopefully maybe a viable third party will arise out of the ashes of the Republican meltdown). The effects of Democrat control of government will haunt us for decades, especially appointees to the judicial branch of gov’t.

  • Peter Leavitt

    2008:

    The year that the U.S and its allies were victorious over the Iraqi insurgents.

    That for the first time an American presidential election was decided mainly on the basis of race.

    That the Bush administration through bold economic policy staved off a deep recession or depression.

    That the Patriots disgraced themselves by losing to a New York football team after winning all their games during the 2007 season. Compared to this the Obama victory over McCain was a cipher.

  • Peter Leavitt

    In the above it should have been …this was a cipher.

  • Larry

    I have to wonder if the exodus of many conservative congregations from the Episcopal church doesn’t signal the beginning of a critical shift … a reformation of sorts. At least I (not an Episcopalian, but concerned for the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church) hope so!

  • cattail

    Ask me in 2019, although I devoutly hope that the Lord will have called me home by then.