We are well into the new
year. Long ago toasts have been forgotten, vows made for the year ahead allowed
to fall by the wayside. The vast majority of New Year’s resolutions have been jettisoned
like a prom dress after three or four cocktails. Regardless, it behooves us to
look back in time every now and again, to see how we got here and therefore
where we may be headed. Every Decade has had its own feel, vibe, character…even
ambiance, if you will. For what it’s worth, here is my extremely brief
thumbnail sketch of the past 12 of them. I know this post is different— (ironically)
far less timely and on a subject of far less immediacy and import than of those
I usually pen, but I wanted to get a feel for you, the readers, opinions of
past decades. Those of you who aren’t too absorbed in a lovely Summer Sunday
and/or the finale of the FIFA World Cup, please take a moment to let me know if
you have a favorite decade, or one that stands out to you in some poignant way--
for good, bad, or indifferent. I am genuinely curious and look forward to reading
your comments.
*1910s— Ford invented the assembly line, and, not
coincidentally, increased basic wage rates. Babe Ruth made his debut. The
Panama Canal was completed. But this decade was dominated by the “War to End
All Wars.” Which, as it turned out, wasn’t. Possibilities met Progressivism for
the first time. And the Great War devastated Europe and overshadowed
everything. Some say we have never recovered.
*1920s— The war was over and everyone was dancing. The
“Roaring Twenties” came in like a drunken lion and, unfortunately, ended in a
stock market crash. Women won the right to vote in America, but drinking
alcoholic beverages was prohibited. So speakeasies and “bathtub booze” ruled
the day. It was fun, fun, fun until your daddy took the Model-T away.
*1930s— Born of a stock market crash, the ‘30s never
really got any better. As if a market crash wasn’t enough, the “Dust Bowl”
years further devastated Americans. FDR reigned. World War II loomed. Churchill
tried to prevent it, but no one who mattered listened. If the ‘20s were fun,
the ‘30s were not.
*1940s— America tried to be aloof, but that dream was
shattered on December 7th, 1941, a date that would “live in infamy.”
Ike, MacArthur, and Patton helped win the war, ending four years of rationing
and sacrifice for American families. And devastation for the world. The Nuclear
Age began. Churchill presciently identified an “Iron Curtain.” The Berlin
Airlift began. The Greatest Generation became the Greatest Generation. The
United States became the world’s only true superpower, economically and
militarily, pissing off the Soviets and every other would-be superpower. This,
then, became the “American Century.”
*1950s— Back to the ‘20s as we came out of another World
War and were dancing again. This time with Big Bands and legal alcohol! Sock
hops, the Big Bopper, Elvis, and Ike. What’s not to like? A feel-good era of Red
Ryder BB guns, slinkies, and Daniel Boone hats-- but the space race started
between the United States and the Soviet Union. As did the Cold War.
*1960s— Started out okay but ended badly. Very badly.
Race riots, Vietnam, Woodstock—sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Flower children.
JFK, RFK and Martin Luther King, Jr., all assassinated. A ray of hope: we
landed on the moon in July of 1969. The friggin’ moon! Oh, and I was
born.
*1970s— War. Loss. Carter. Gas lines. Stagflation.
Malaise. Hostages. Orange shag carpets. If the ‘70s were a car they would be an
Edsel. If they were a food, they would be a Brussel sprout. If they were a
person, they’d be a homeless addict. Despite all that, I can reflect fondly on
the decade, as I was young and improving. Unlike the U.S. For $5 you
could buy a “pet rock.” I played a lot of pinball.
*1980s— …And then the U.S. Olympic hockey team stunned
the world. I mean stunned. And Ronald Reagan became the 40th
President of the United States of America. When America was still
somewhat united. Pop music was upbeat. Reagan was re-elected in the biggest
landslide in American history, only Minnesota abstaining. If the ‘70s were an
Edsel, the ‘80s were a Mustang. Reagan’s policies really took effect in 1983
and ushered in the “17 Fat Years.” Don’t worry, be happy! The Berlin Wall fell.
Life was good! My favorite decade.
*1990s— The ‘90s saw the creation of the World Wide Web,
revolutionizing communication, commerce, and culture. For good, bad, and
indifferent. Globalization, the European Union, Hip Hop. Bill Clinton and “it
depends on what your definition of is is.” Most of us were still doing well,
but many of us felt that something wasn’t right. Gulf War. Dot-Com bubble. “Defining
deviancy down.” On a positive personal note, I got married and my wife and I
had child #1. Ode to Joy.
*2000s— Just as the “Miracle on Ice” and Ronald Reagan
ushered in the ‘80s with great optimism and a “can do” spirit, 9/11 cast a pall
over this decade that could never quite be shaken. And then came the 2007-8
real estate crash and a recession. The fat years were over. Barack Obama was
elected vowing to “fundamentally transform” America. Sadly, he did. Boy, did he
ever. (Wife and I welcomed child #2. Ode to Joy again.)
*2010s— This decade saw the rapid rise of smartphones and
social media platforms, a trend that continues today. “Apps” became ubiquitous.
A.I. became “a thing.” There was a surge in cultural movements. (And virtue
signaling.) D.E.I. was the order of the day. Donald Trump shocked the world
when he was elected President of the United States in 2016. Trump Derangement
Syndrome was born.
*2020s—Joe Biden was allegedly elected president in 2020,
a “fact” that no one was allowed to question at the time, but which looks less
and less factual today. Politicians used COVID-19 to lock down the world
and force people to accept an experimental mRNA “vaccine” into their bodies. Donald
Trump was elected again in 2024, as the people were sick of an obviously
incompetent and senile husk of a man who was being used by far-left entities to
advance a far-left agenda. This decade, now just past its midpoint, is hard to permanently
characterize, of course-- other than by saying it has been fraught with inner
tension, heightened division, rising skepticism, and increasing angst about the
future. (I lost a brother in 2021 during the COVID lockdown. Horrendous.)
Dear and gentle readers, do you
have a favorite decade, whether big picture or personal? If so, please explain
why in the comments.
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