The decade in review

The decade in review December 31, 2009

Time Magazine calls it “the decade from hell.” The Washington Post calls it “the decade we didn't see coming.” How would you characterize the first decade of the 21st century that is now passing into history? (Note: I know that 2010 completes the first decade, but let’s just talk about the years with a zero in the last two digits.)

It seems to me that the defining event of the decade happened on September 11, 2001. Those monstrous acts of terrorism led to a decade-long war, with more than one front, which still continues. And now, in a supreme irony, at the very end of that decade, another attempt at terrorism reminds us that we are still vulnerable to Islamic terrorism despite the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, the Department of Homeland Security, taking our shoes off at the airport, etc., etc.

Another defining event would be the economic meltdown and the consequent bailout. Couple this with the looming health care reform bill, and it appears that Americans and their government may have given up on free market capitalism and are going to adopt instead a European-style social democracy. For better or worse, that would be historic.

What other events and developments of the last decade do you think were especially significant and will be featured in the history books of the future?

(Tomorrow, on New Year’s Day: Predictions for the future.)

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