How 8 years Changed the World

The Florida Recount seems like decades ago, remember that? I was a quirky preteen living in Medford Oregon years before any of my political interests cultivated. Now with a new president-elect, the world heralds a coming era of peace and prosperity. George W. Bush polarized thought but it's been a tough 8 years. Recently I sat down and thought above some of the key events of the last 8 years and what they meant for me but most importantly, our world. I attempted to imagine what these developments will look like in our children's history books.

9/11/01- 9/11 is undoubtedly the single biggest event of this decade. It moved us from a post-Cold War world to a War of Terror. It's created a new image of America internationally and the results of 9/11 will be felt for years to come. It revived an interest in both Islam and the afterlife as it reminded us that life is indeed a gift which can be snatched away in a moment. Since then we've seen seen chaos and grief all over the world, Madrid, London, and Iraq as we move into our own brave new world with our own challenges much different from those on 9/10/01.

Going Green- I watched "Some like it Hot" recently, a 1959 comedy in which of the protagonists ask for 40 cents of gas for a road trip. I laughed, out loud, a lot. So gas as gone up a little but then so has the "Go Green" movement. We're dedicated to finding clean renewable energy and are willing to make changes at the grass-roots levels. The economy has been both strong and weak in the past 8 years, but going green is something I'm proud of.

China- The West was predicting doom for China during the days after Tienanmen Square. China as the crouching dragon is beginning to waken. Amazingly, in the past 8 years they've grown at rates which shock both historians and economists. They've embraced capitalism and emerged as a potential top player on the global playing field. Even Communist Cuba shows signs of opening up to the world reaffirming that Reagan did end the Cold War. China's entry into the Modern Age at the Beijing Olympics was glamorous, and it's going to be very interesting in the future.

Darfur- Darfur hasn't changed in the past 8 years, but now it's a household word. It's becoming a pet project for many celebrities and stars who are actively promoting change in Sudan and other sectors of the global society. We've seen many disasters, Pakistan's 2005 earthquake, the 2004 Sumatra Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina and we've seen the involvement of millions of people worldwide in relieving suffering and restoring order and prosperity.

Ipod- This was certainly not something from the 90s! In the past 8 years we've thrown cassettes to the dogs, CDs to the bookshelves and embrased ITunes. We catch the latest episodes of Gray's, Lost, or American Idol on our computers and listen to news podcasts on they way to work. Steve Jobs became a billionare and we started walking around with thousands of songs on a 4 inch bit of Asian manufactured metal with Q-tip-like bits in our ears..."Please don't stop the music, music..."

Zimbabwe- We saw Africa's breadbasket change under one man's leadership to a land of suffering and angry chaos. We've seen two national elections rigged and done nothing. The pain there continues, and this is a project along with Darfur we carry with us into the future. We must continue to strive for order and reconciliation.

Globalization- We've seen outsourcing, moving beyond our own boarders at lightening speed and on a large scale. We've introduced Indian salespeople on our telephones, Dell computers custom made in China and even the intro of the Euro. The Internet debuted social networks like MySpace and Facebook, Skype, Wikipedia, Google and online university choices. Globalization is strong, it's changing us and like the title of Thomas Friedman's book, "The World is Flat."

Harry Potter- Okay, so the first book was published in 97. Okay I only read the first book before being bored but the little English wizzard in Coke-bottle glasses did hit it big. His creator has made over a billion in revenue and we're still awaiting more movies. We've seen the growth of family films as well, Cars, Finding Nemo, Narnia and have proved to Hollywood that the gore doesn't make the blockbuster.

Can you believe all the change? We live in an era moving at the speed of sound and we move forward into our own brave new world embracing the change and resolved to make it a better place. The world I live in, the world I'll work in, the world I want to change is the world created by the past 8 years, and I welcome the challenge.