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Was the U.S. in the 1990s the best time & place to live in the history of mankind?


wiegie
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Not to mention school shootings, bombings of buildings (WTC, Oklahoma City), early '90s recession, internet stock bubble bursting... the nineties had its low points, too.

 

Doug Larson defined nostalgia as a device that removes the potholes and ruts from memory lane. I think that is applicable to this discussion.

OK, so what then do you think is the best time and place to have lived in the history of mankind?

 

(I'm not saying that the US in the 1990s was perfect, but I am saying that it is hard to think of a better situation in which to have lived.)

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They say Palestine is pretty nice.

 

 

Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson carries the ball against Oregon last Saturday. The Palestine, Texas, native has emerged as one of the top backs in the country, kicking off the season with three consecutive 100-yard games.

 

It wasn't until High School that I learned there was another Palestine besides the one I grew up near. And that they mispronounced PalestINE instead of PalestEEN. Not sure which one came first though I do remember before there was a Lake Palestine.

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And for the record, if you think any time was better than the present you are fooling yourself with nostalgia and selective memory IMO

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And for the record, if you think any time was better than the present you are fooling yourself with nostalgia and selective memory IMO

Interestingly enough, for me personally this is true. (I honestly thought to myself earlier today that this was the happiest day of my life, :D )

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I disagree with the 50's proponents. McCarthyism was in full swing (does it get any less American than that?), nuclear bombs seemed to be a very real threat along with the USSR and US surely going to lock horns.

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Not to mention school shootings, bombings of buildings (WTC, Oklahoma City), early '90s recession, internet stock bubble bursting... the nineties had its low points, too.

 

The Nasdaq bubble began to burst in March of 2000.

 

I wasn't there, but I've read they were called "The Roaring Twenties" for a reason.

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OK, so what then do you think is the best time and place to have lived in the history of mankind?

 

(I'm not saying that the US in the 1990s was perfect, but I am saying that it is hard to think of a better situation in which to have lived.)

I have no idea. Now is a good time for most, with a few exceptions. You talk with Russians, and they'll tell you that the 90s were some of their worst times. I'm sure Iraqis aren't hot on right now, though. The Chinese are probably better now (as a whole), and the Japanese economy has got to be better now than it was in the 90s. Europeans seem to be every bit as good now as they were in the 90s, but Africa seems to suck as much now as it ever has.

 

For me personally, I'm doing great right now. However, it's tough to compare 10 years into a job versus high school and college.

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I have no idea. Now is a good time for most, with a few exceptions. You talk with Russians, and they'll tell you that the 90s were some of their worst times. I'm sure Iraqis aren't hot on right now, though. The Chinese are probably better now (as a whole), and the Japanese economy has got to be better now than it was in the 90s. Europeans seem to be every bit as good now as they were in the 90s, but Africa seems to suck as much now as it ever has.

 

For me personally, I'm doing great right now. However, it's tough to compare 10 years into a job versus high school and college.

 

The question only applies to the U.S.

 

 

Wiegie doesn't give a Kevin Ratterree about the rest of the world (with the exception of Switzerland).

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The question only applies to the U.S.

No it doesn't. It applies to any particular time and place in the history of the world. If somebody wants to put forth an argument that, say, Ireland in the 1960s was the best place-time to live, have at it.

 

I think it is pretty easy to exclude Russia, China, Iraq, and any place in Africa no matter what time period we are talking about.

 

I would also exclude any time period prior to the 1950s because they didn't have antibiotics back then and any minor infection could quickly end up killing you or your kids.

Edited by wiegie
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MTV and the radio equally killed music...

 

they both force crappy music onto the radio until morans think it's good and start buying....

 

I think every post-teen generation looks back and calls the "new generation" of teens idiots...

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Maybe minus the economy in 1990-92, the rest of the decade was pretty sweet. (And I'm a Republican, so its not a bash on Bush I - I was surprised that Clinton won.) My wife and I were young, newly married 'DINKS' - double income no kids - and bought our first house, travelled the world a bit, held and attended some good parties, dined out a lot, etc. Yep, pretty good. Late 1999 brought our first child, and then 2 more through 2005, so the 2Ks have been good, but in a different (less carefree) family way.

 

Other than the threat of nuclear war, the 50's were pretty optimistic, the 'simple life', great economic expansion for us, and such. Must've been a fun time too, except for maybe minorities in the south. No one could predict the social upheavals of the 60's. I mean, the show 'Happy Days' was called that for a good reason, right?

 

I'm sure if you were an upper class Roman in the early ADs, you would've had some good times too - extended peace as a superpower, accumulating wealth from around the known world, envied by all others countries, etc. Just without electricity and other modern conveniences.

 

Interesting question.......

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I'd vote for the 20's

 

1 ) stock market was booming (before the crash)

 

2 ) indoor plumbing

 

3 ) women weren't allowed to vote.

you forgot about prohibition :D

 

(good call on the other stuff though) :D

Edited by wiegie
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Don't know about the second part of the thread title question, but I really enjoyed the early-mid '90s. And that has nothing to do with who was in the White House or who controlled Congress. It was a "perfect storm" of (relative) peace, optimism, a booming economy, and exciting technological innovation.

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I disagree with the 50's proponents. McCarthyism was in full swing (does it get any less American than that?), nuclear bombs seemed to be a very real threat along with the USSR and US surely going to lock horns.

 

You talking about the nuclear threat that never happened versus the terrorist threat today that has happened and might again?

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But at the time (the 1950s) people didn't know that a nuclear war wasn't going to happen.

 

My point is that their was fear then but it didn't happen opposed to everyday fear today and it has happened and may happen again. So having lived in both decades I ended up safe in the 50's, but it's still up in the air this decade. Every decade has paranoia of something.

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