In the late 90's, America had it all. The economy was booming, the budget was balanced, the middle class could afford a home, we had no serious foreign enemies, the internet was still a place of hope and wonder, and we had a perfect blend of harmless political sex scandals mixed with trust in media and information.
All of that is gone now. All of what was lost was precipitated by 9/11. It was a test of our unity, our system of government, our society, our morals, our laws, and we failed the test. It broke America, and we have not healed from it. Maybe we never will.
@wildgrass saidIDK the 90's sucked for me
In the late 90's, America had it all. The economy was booming, the budget was balanced, the middle class could afford a home, we had no serious foreign enemies, the internet was still a place of hope and wonder, and we had a perfect blend of harmless political sex scandals mixed with trust in media and information.
All of that is gone now. All of what was lost was precip ...[text shortened]... laws, and we failed the test. It broke America, and we have not healed from it. Maybe we never will.
@athousandyoung saidWhy? I wasn't really thinking about it personally, I was thinking about our collective momentum as a country and a society.
IDK the 90's sucked for me
@wildgrass saidI think a country's momentum goes in fits and starts, but as the great Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Why? I wasn't really thinking about it personally, I was thinking about our collective momentum as a country and a society.
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@wildgrass saidWell, for one thing we started the trend of imprisoning more and more people every year for longer and longer sentences
Why? I wasn't really thinking about it personally, I was thinking about our collective momentum as a country and a society.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_rate#/media/File:US_incarceration_timeline-clean.svg
@athousandyoung saidStarted, but isn't that problem quite a bit worse now? also we had that whole Guantanamo torture chamber thing with prisoners precipitated by 9/11.
Well, for one thing we started the trend of imprisoning more and more people every year for longer and longer sentences
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_rate#/media/File:US_incarceration_timeline-clean.svg
@suzianne saidI appreciate the optimism. But the current long hill of decline is nonetheless bumming me out.
I think a country's momentum goes in fits and starts, but as the great Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Balanced budget in 1999. Federal spending in 2020 puts us $2.5 trillion in the red in a single year.
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@lemondrop saidIsn't that inflation bit part of the moral arc though, the logical endpoint of excessive federal spending by Republican presidents and complicity from their conservative voting bloc?
when inflations comes roaring no one will be talking about the moral arc
@wildgrass saidIn the late 90's, America had it all. The economy was booming, the budget was balanced, the middle class could afford a home
In the late 90's, America had it all. The economy was booming, the budget was balanced, the middle class could afford a home, we had no serious foreign enemies, the internet was still a place of hope and wonder, and we had a perfect blend of harmless political sex scandals mixed with trust in media and information.
All of that is gone now. All of what was lost was precip ...[text shortened]... laws, and we failed the test. It broke America, and we have not healed from it. Maybe we never will.
I remember lots of folks my parents age saying the same thing about the 1950's. Living in the past is not a wise mindset.
@mchill saidYeah yeah that living in the past message wasn't my point but I can see how that was interpreted. I'm referring to societal growth.
In the late 90's, America had it all. The economy was booming, the budget was balanced, the middle class could afford a home
I remember lots of folks my parents age saying the same thing about the 1950's. Living in the past is not a wise mindset.
After WWII and the cold war etc. we learned some lessons and grew as a society. Did we incorporate any positive lessons from 9/11 into our society or our government?
@wildgrass saidYou mean like the Irak war?
Why? I wasn't really thinking about it personally, I was thinking about our collective momentum as a country and a society.
The president’s blow job?
Grunge music?
The troubles in the former Yugoslavia?
The Soviet Union splintering into too many countries to count, most of them worse than each other?
Films were good though!
Pulp Fiction, the Big Lebowksi…
@shavixmir saidAll of those things are now worse.
You mean like the Irak war?
The president’s blow job?
Grunge music?
The troubles in the former Yugoslavia?
The Soviet Union splintering into too many countries to count, most of them worse than each other?
Films were good though!
Pulp Fiction, the Big Lebowksi…
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@wildgrass saidBull. 11/9 is just when you middle-class nobodies started noticing it. It started when Ray-Gun Ronnie was elected. And every single Republican president since has both deepened and widened the gap.
In the late 90's, America had it all. The economy was booming, the budget was balanced, the middle class could afford a home, we had no serious foreign enemies, the internet was still a place of hope and wonder, and we had a perfect blend of harmless political sex scandals mixed with trust in media and information.
All of that is gone now. All of what was lost was precip ...[text shortened]... laws, and we failed the test. It broke America, and we have not healed from it. Maybe we never will.
@shallow-blue saidIt's been mostly Republican-led disasters, but the existence of a decline in some places prior to the 90's does not negate the continuation or exaggeration of that trend since 9/11. What have we gained since 9/11? What societal progress has been made? Before last year, I was optimistic about science, but I was naive. A huge chunk of our society has no understanding or appreciation or trust in the scientific method at all.
Bull. 11/9 is just when you middle-class nobodies started noticing it. It started when Ray-Gun Ronnie was elected. And every single Republican president since has both deepened and widened the gap.