1.) Launch of the internet
I don’t know when it actually happened, but has anything affected your life more than the internet? Innovations, like smart phones, laptops, Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc., have also been pretty significant, but their significance is largely, or in most cases completely, tied to the internet. I question how many businesses and professions could be sustained without the advantages that the internet provides. I also doubt that any of you can name a more significant moment in our lifetime and even if you can I bet that you couldn’t have done it without using the internet.
2.) Terrorist attacks of 9/11 (September 11th, 2001)
Ever since the wide spread infiltration of radio and television there has been an American “where were you when” moment roughly every 20-30 years. Prior to radio and television news just didn’t travel quickly enough to qualify as “where were you when” moments. If the internet, radio, and 24/7 cable news networks were up and running way back when then things like Fort Sumter, Lincoln’s assassination, the Titanic, etc. would count. That said, the four that I do count are- Pearl Harbor (December 7th, 1941), JFK’s assassination (November 22, 1963), the Challenger Explosion* (January 28th, 1986), and the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001.
FYI- I was a sophomore in high school walking from Art Class on the first floor to Chemistry Class on the third floor when I first heard the news from my friend Alex who had Music Class right across the hall. If memory serves we had Chemistry Class as if nothing had happened then watched the news for the entirety of Religion Class. JV football practice that day lasted about two minutes. Our coach simply told us to go home and be with our families.
*I was born on March 14th, 1986 so I couldn’t count the Challenger Explosion in this list.
3.) Fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9th, 1989)
It’s a little weird to think that the event that essentially ended the Cold War happened in Germany, but it did. For those of you that have forgotten, here is the cliff notes version of why this even was so significant.
After World War II the United States, France, Britain, and the Soviet Union divided Germany into quadrants to aid in the rebuilding effort. They also divided Berlin, the nation’s capital, into quadrants (apparently the term was “occupation zones”) even though the city was well within the quadrant assigned to the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union, led by Joseph Stalin, had intentions of turning Germany into a communist state. As Cold War tensions began to increase the commies erected a 12 foot concrete wall that separated East and West Berlin. The wall was well guarded and access to and from both sides was restricted.
As the Cold War dragged into the 1980s communism was on its last legs. It had failed the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc as an economic system. The adverse effects were startling.
In 1987, President Reagan gave a speech from the Brandenburg Gate (part of the wall) and demanded that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev “tear down this wall.”
In September of 1989 protestors gathered at the wall in East Berlin (the communist side) and began chanting “We want out!” The peaceful protest continued until November 9th when it was announced that East Berliners were finally free to go where they pleased. Not only were the gates opened, but joyous East and West Berliners began to take sledgehammers to the wall in a demolition effort that lasted for weeks.
The fall of the Berlin wall symbolizes America’s victory in the Cold War. Capitalism won and communism lost.
4.) Scientists map the human genome (April 2003)
A collective effort of scientists all across the world successfully mapped the human genome in 2003. Now I know what you’re thinking. They did what? How is this significant? They basically discovered what each of the 20,000-25,000 genes in the human body looks like and are responsible for doing. For example, this gene looks like this and controls eye color. The knowledge compiled in this academic masterpiece has already been and will continue to be instrumental in our understanding of disease (both physical and behavioral). I really can’t overstate the significance of this achievement.
5.) Barack Obama is elected president (November 4th, 2008)
Barack Obama’s election is incredibly significant because of the racial component. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball and Barack Obama broke the color barrier in the presidency. Electing a black leader reinforced America’s willingness for acceptance. You know, the same willingness for acceptance that our country was founded on. African-Americans have long been looked down upon in this country and Obama’s victory was a significant victory for them. It also ushered in what I believe will be a new era in diversity. The white Anglo-Saxon Protestant days of the past are over. Times are a changing. The emerging Hispanic population will continue to rise up through the ranks here in America.
6.) Killing Osama Bin Laden (May 1st, 2011)
The healing process from 9/11 will never be complete, but bringing Bin Laden to justice back in May stirred up our collective American pride and undoubtedly helped the victims’ families of 9/11 immensely. The vengeance killing of Bin Laden once again showed that America has the best military in the world and that you can run, but you can’t hide. Assassinations are always significant (because you have to be important to be assassinated or else it’s just a murder), but this one takes the cake in our lifetime.
7.) The formation of the European Union and NAFTA (November 1st, 2003, January 1st, 1994)
No event has affected the world economy more than the advent of the European Union. Although it’s currently in shambles thanks to Greece, the EU’s influence is unprecedented. In case you are not familiar (and I doubt that many of you are), the European Union is an economic system that governs European (27 countries that are mostly part of Europe) commerce. This agreement/organization has made Europe a single market that controls 20% of the world’s GDP. They have their own currency (the Euro).
The EU is also a political alliance (sort of) which means that it’s a military and singular leader away from becoming eerily similar to the United States. By that I mean that the EU would operate just like our federal government and the countries that make up the EU would operate like our 50 states.
I also clump the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico in with the beginning of the modern phase of the EU because they happened around the same time. In fact, my dad has a wild theory that eventually we will transition into a new currency just like the EU did and ours will be called the Amero…I wish I was joking, but I’m not.
8.) End of apartheid in South Africa (February 2nd, 1990)
Slavery ended in 1863ish (Emancipation Proclamation), the Indian caste system ended in 1950, and apartheid (essentially slavery) ended in South Africa in 1991. It’s crazy to think that some human beings were legally treated as slaves just 20 years ago.
9.) The Monica Lewinsky Scandal (January 1998- January 1999)
Sure, if you boil it down it’s pretty insignificant. The sitting president of the United States got a blow job from a 22 year-old intern. Who cares, right? This was not the first political scandal involving an extramarital affair and it certainly wasn’t the last, but it’s the most well known. This became a big deal because Clinton lied about it (although I guess it depends on what the definition of is is). As we’ve learned over and over the cover up is always worse than the crime.
For those that question the significance of this event, do you know how many presidents have been impeached by the House of Representatives? 2. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.
10.) Hurricane Katrina (Augst 23rd 2005- August 30th, 2005)
Katrina was one of the deadliest natural disasters in American History. At least 1,836 people died as a result of the Hurricane and resulting floods. The Gulf Coast was decimated. Property damage was estimated at $81 billion. After the levees broke in New Orleans roughly 80% of the city was underwater. There were countless people displaced from their homes
Katrina was also significant because of the delayed response by the government. This feeling was, of course, best summed up by rapper Kanye West who proclaimed that President Bush doesn’t’ care about black people.
FYI- My buddy dated a girl named Katrina in college and she hattted black people. Ok, we just pretended that she did.
Other notable events
Michael Jackson’s death (June 25th, 2009)- He was the King of Pop.
Princess Diana’s death (August 31st, 1997)- The media made this seem like a huge deal, but what did Princess Diana really do? Why was she important?
Tiger Woods scandal (November 27th, 2009)- The most famous athlete in the world was revealed to be a philanderer and he’s never been the same on the course.
Financial collapse- Hard to pin point a date, but the sputtering economy still hasn’t recovered, so the lasting effects are still reverberating.
Gulf oil spill (April 20th, 2010- September 19th, 2010)- Significant because it took so long to close the hole and because of the environmental effects, but only 11 people died.
The Japanese Tsunami (March 11, 2011)- The devastation in Japan is unfathomable. Almost 16,000 people died, 6,000 were injured, and 4,000 went missing. To people in Japan this is definitely #1 or #2, but for us in America we felt bad, but it didn’t really affect us.
Haitian earthquake (January 12th, 2010)- Even though recording artists busted out another edition of “We Are the World” it’s still not worthy of the top 10.
O.J. Simpson trial (June 13th, 1994 (night of the killings)- October 3rd, 1995 (day of the acquittal)- The white Ford Bronco chase, “if the gloves don’t fit you must acquit”, the racial component. It’s the most famous trial in our lifetime by far.
Oklahoma City bombing (April 19th, 1995)- The 2nd most destructive act of terrorism on American soil and it was carried out by Americans. 168 people died and 680 were injured.
Columbine shootings (April 20th, 1999)- There are about 1-2 school shooting a year, but for some reason Columbine is the most famous of them all.
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