We're nearing the end of the first decade of the 21st century. Time magazine, in their own words, is calling it "The Decade from Hell": http://www.time.com/time/nation/article ... 34,00.html Focus: What's your take on the last ten years? Was it truly one of the worst decades in American history, or is that a gross hyperbole? Are future generations screwed? Is there a glimmer of hope? Personally, how have you grown? What's the last ten years been like for you? I think it's been a shitty ten years, but I fucking loved it. Sure, the economy's in the tank, we've got a mounting debt, our status as a global superpower may be dwindling, but shit - the world's changing. And we're all front and center for it. Plus I'm one of the many who can claim that my formal education was all contained within this very decade - I was a freshman in high school in 2000 and I graduated college in 2008. I've done a ton of cool shit these last ten years. So suck on that, decade from hell. Discuss (no politics)
Fuck. The past decade saw me lose my house (and car), get divorced, move 13 states away, and live off of Obama's generous unemployment. However, it also saw me get remarried, find a state that I don't curse every day when I wake up, and discover a world of awesome that I never would have if I had stayed in Cleveland. Stagnation is the devil, and while the ride has been bumpy, it's been an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. I've inherited two awesome step-kids, I've made some serious life-changing decisions, and while the decade has kinda sucked, I'm happier than I have ever been. That's got to count for something...
I think this decade might go down as a bigger "me" decade than the 80s. With the advancements in technology coupled with social networking everybody is focused on themselves more than ever. My whole teen and young adult life has been during this decade, my personal experience is probably the same as a lot of other average Americans. I'm just glad I live here were the biggest problems in my day to day life are facebook updates and sports seasons, not suicide bombers and starvation. Not that those things aren't important but it is a good thing that our technology and society has advanced enough to allow us to live a much more peaceful life than a lot of countries.
If all you know is Cleveland, pretty much everywhere not Cleveland is awesome. Focus: You're asking a bunch of people that know 2 decades (The 90's and the 00's) what they think of the past 10 years? Most of this board was watching cartoons, playing with crayons, and trying to remember that shitting themselves was a no-no when this decade began. They have nothing to compare it to.
Without going into the politics of it, the reason that the 2000's will be perceived by Americans as the worst decade is for two realizations forced upon them: First, America collectively learned that it's not fucking special, entitled, and the 'Land of Opportunity' is fresh out of opportunities. Second, Americans individually learned that what they were taught as the 'American Dream' - each would have it a little better than their parents had it, is DOA, and the crash cart ain't working. There are a myriad of political reasons for it that are excluded from the focus, so I'll not get into it here. Sadly, the next decade will make the previous one look like a walk in the park.
I definitely fall into this group, started UK highschool in 2000, will be finishing university in 2010, that's my decade.
This is discussed at the end of every decade. Every decade was perceived to be the worst ever, and the whole world was on the skids, technology would be the downfall of human kind. Every generation of kids are looked at as disrespectful, and going to amount to nothing. There really is no need to have this discussion because times have been worse, and people have been worse, but things get better. And things get worse. Time is just trying to sell magazines.
As proof to what Toy said in his post about age, I think the opposite of Kubla. I think all of the technology, although it certainly has it's positives, in relation to the younger set, has been more of a detrimine. Take a look at the most recent Suggestion thread. Sure, all the techie stuff is great but networking with friends does not always have to be from in front of a computer.
Just wait two years. With any luck, 2012 will make sure we never have a discussion about how shitty the twenty-teens are inevitably going to be.
The 90's was a FANTASTIC decade- the best rock music since the Summer Of Love, the rise of great West Coast hip-hop, Internet porn, the end of mullets and tapered jeans, etc. We were supposed to usher in a new age when we had the party of the century back in 2000 (aside from the impossibly stupid idiots that thought it would be Doomsday). In comes the new millenium: THE BAD: -The rise of Reality TV (excuse me while I puke) which gave birth to a new kind of celebrity: the useless and utterly unlikable kind. -9/11 and the never-ending aftermath. -The shittiest music since polka was invented. Good Charlotte. Kings of Leon. Coldplay. Norah Jones. Billy Talent. "Screamo" Rock. T-Pain. Solja Boy. Hollywood Undead (seriously, those guy are just a practical joke on society, right? RIGHT!?!?!). All of these bands play ARENAS. How sad is that? -Skinny jeans. Go to hell and stay there. -All kinds of countless atrocities all over or earth. -Polluting the world into an unflinching and unfixable doom. Only now are people finally coming to the conclusion that we are completely and utterly fucked. -The bankers burn the entire house down, and are then bailed out unwillingly of their monstrous theft by the very people they stole from: you. -Fearless soldiers dying by the hour over seas in multiple wars. -Hurricane Katrina wipes out New Orleans. Poor people are left to drown in rivers of their own shit. -Fox News: giving the stupid, pathetic and mundane a voice to be fooled by. -Myself surviving two catasrophic car accidents, one killing the girl I was dating. -A friend of mine being murdered in cold blood by his co-worker over $40 (my friend was the lender). He was shot dead and left to die in the snow by himself. -etc. THE GOOD: -A great party to kick it all off. THE greatest party of all. -The death of Jerry Falliwell (finally). Common sense rejoices. -Some good music, but the shitty stuff far outweighs the good. -This website, and the former one. The one site on the internet I have ever truly liked (really). -Finally, my new family. My daughter survived her horribly early birthm the best thing to ever happen to me. -etc. In the end, we lived through the biggest shitstorm since the 30's, so.... decade from Hell? ...HELL YES.
I'm with the original poster- while I may dislike some (a lot) of things that have been going on in the world around me, the past ten years have been pretty good to me. In all honesty, these past years have been the most important in terms of shaping who I am. I survived Y2K (even though its still going to get us one day), graduated high school in '01 and experienced the whole recruiting thing, got a free college education to play football for five years, met some great people, had a couple of pretty serious relationships where though they didn't work out they helped me grow and mature as a person, had many many memorable experiences that would take too long to recount here, had my nephews enter my life, entered the professional world, bought my first house, drank a bunch of whiskey, kicked a bunch of pigs, met my mortal enemy in the form of a little yellow bird, the list goes on and on. When I think of the 90s, it is only about nostalgia and childhood experiences. When I think about the 00s ten years from now, it will be about the time when I actually became me.
The shit storm hasnt passed yet. I dont even want to think what the next year will bring us going on the same track were on now.
Being 27 right now, I've had more fun this decade than in my highschool days in the mid-late '90s. Nit pickers and whiners will always find something to complain about, saying how bad everything supposedly is. Not me. I have a wonderful son (8) who always gives me challenges and joy (and an ex-wife who only gives me challenges), I've learned to be more positive and laid back (no more wanting to kill myself-Yeah!), and even though I've had legal problems since the middle of this decade, damn I've had fun! Here's to the next ten. More good stuff: The return of factory muscle cars Quality control/engineering for cars is finally back on track after the shitty times that were the '70s and '80s. Say what you want about the evils of the internet, it has really benefitted me. Edit: Oh, and I'm with Crown Royal about the music issue; the '90s spawned some of the greatest rock bands since the '60s (Nirvana, Monster Magnet, STP, ALICE IN MOTHERFUCKING CHAINS, Jerry Cantrell's solo work, etc.).
I graduated from college in 2004. I though I had a career, it fell through. I worked a few jobs that sucked. I wound up in a pretty fair amount of debt. I pissed away a pile of money. I learned more about the legal system than I care to know. I bought a dog. I lived above my means and learned from it without catastrophic failure. I watched friends buy houses that they couldn't afford and find themselves in a world of hurt. I moved 1,000 miles away from home in order to pursue a real career and it's working out. Most of my debt is mostly paid. I've been in a healthy relationship for over two years now. I turned 30. I chose a political party that falls in line with my thinking. I own a $2,000 car, live in a shitty apartment complex, and I feel more grounded now than I ever have. Life is definitely on the upswing. What have I learned from the past decade? I am responsible for my actions and my decisions, morally, financially, and legally. I must pay the bills, obey the law, and be an honest and upstanding person. Nobody is going to pat me on the back for 99.9% of the good and right things that I do every day and this is the way that it should be. I feel that others are learning the same lesson and a few are learning it while they are being dragged kicking and screaming down the road of responsibility. Natural disasters, human rights violations (both perceived and actual), shitty government, shitty music, and shitty jeans will follow us through the ages. This is nothing new and relatively unremarkable over the course of time. I hope that over the next decade the pendulum swings back towards personal accountability and modesty, but I'm afraid this will be more of a personal revolution than a societal one.
Exactly. I was born in 1991. I didn't think this decade was bad. I just felt like it was what it was. I wasn't aware this was "the decade from hell". But if it is, I see that as a good thing. It means things can only get better, right?
Myself, I was born the year Elvis died (1977) and like ToyToy and Netdata, I can judge both decades with a clear memory. To put it in a musical sense: the 1990's was Led Zeppelin, and the 2000's were Menudo.
At the beginning of the the only other decade I know (the 90's), I was still learning how not to shit myself, so I am going to wisely shut the fuck up during the course of this thread. However, I think calling this the decade from hell is a little overblown.
It seems to me that the longer our species lives, the greater our capacity for self-destruction becomes. The sheer number of ways we could possibly annihilate ourselves increases exponentially over time, and does so in mind-boggling ways. We have flying robots that can pump bullets into people from 25,000 feet in the air. Metal tubes patrol the oceans armed with missiles that can level entire cities. Guidos from New Jersey are on prime time television. And I'm not even counting the number of clever ways this planet is planning to ruin our shit. All this decade did was act as a showcase for the Horror of Tomorrow. It was the Detroit Auto Show of hatred, anger and death. So, no, I don't think things can only get better. But that's me.
Born in 1990. It's hard to explain, but I've always felt like my generation is missing something that every other generation has had. At the same time, it seems like we are aware of more than past generations, which isn't necessarily a good thing. It's like we're not as capable of being happy.