What recent events/actions would you call historic?
Most of Mart's posts would qualify I think.
The Ducks beat Arizona; for the first time ever the winner of the Oregon/Oregon State Civil War goes to the Rose Bowl.
How are we defining these times? Post-9/11? Post-Bush?
Post:
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Invasion of Iraq
Execution of Saddam
Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
Standoff after last Mexican presidential election
Election of Obama
Danica Patrick proving auto racing isn't a real sport
I went with post 9-11
Obama's decision to escalate in Vietstan.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on November 22, 2009, 02:36:19 AM
Danica Patrick proving auto racing isn't a real sport
She managed to infuse a little bit of interest for the sport in me, though, even though I abhor all motorsports events (with exception of some cross country rallyes).
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdontcostnothing.files.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F04%2Fdanicapatrick2.jpg&hash=c60d16c0c8db25accf1cdd5c1ade38b60a145563)
:rolleyes: If I want to see buttcrack I can watch my plumber at work.
9/11 seemed to define a lot of stuff after it that wasn't at all obvious before it.
The size of the deficit is historic. If and when health care passes it will be historic.
The financial crisis.
Quote from: The Brain on November 22, 2009, 02:27:23 AM
Most of Mart's posts would qualify I think.
historic /= histrionics
It does equal herstoric though.
If "recent" is considered the last decade then the advent of anyone and everyone being public on the internet i'd consider historic.
If we think we see it when it is happening, likely it is not as important as we think.
9/11 stands out the most. It will be noted in a similar way as "Remember the Maine". A major incident sparking off a war that no one will remember or discuss once it's finished.
Obama getting elected will be worth a paragraph in school text books. Nothing he has done, to date, is noteworthy. I doubt anyone will remember anything about healthcare. It's a hot topic but not historic unless it crushes what's left of the economy with taxes to pay for it.
Quote from: Strix on November 22, 2009, 09:46:58 AM
Obama getting elected will be worth a paragraph in school text books. Nothing he has done, to date, is noteworthy. I doubt anyone will remember anything about healthcare. It's a hot topic but not historic unless it crushes what's left of the economy with taxes to pay for it.
Unless race somehow becomes unimportant in the future while Obama gets no credit for it, he will be fussed over just for being the first black President.
"The Obama Years. 4 Years of Hope without Change between 8 years of Bush and 8 Years of Palin."
Palin won't get past the primaries, as her opponents will be sure to remind the voters that she is a quitter.
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on November 22, 2009, 09:52:27 AM
Quote from: Strix on November 22, 2009, 09:46:58 AM
Obama getting elected will be worth a paragraph in school text books. Nothing he has done, to date, is noteworthy. I doubt anyone will remember anything about healthcare. It's a hot topic but not historic unless it crushes what's left of the economy with taxes to pay for it.
Unless race somehow becomes unimportant in the future while Obama gets no credit for it, he will be fussed over just for being the first black President.
Yeah, but that will diminish with time. For example, no one really makes a big deal of the fact that JFK was the first Catholic president, but it was huge at the time.
I have to admit, I have a bit of fear that history will view Obama about the same as it views Herbert Hoover.
Quote from: dps on November 22, 2009, 12:55:45 PM
I have to admit, I have a bit of fear that history will view Obama about the same as it views Herbert Hoover.
An unimpressive president who rubbed elbows with my great, great grandfather?
Quote from: dps on November 22, 2009, 12:55:45 PM
I have to admit, I have a bit of fear that history will view Obama about the same as it views Herbert Hoover.
No, Bush fills Hoover's skin quite well. :lol:
Obama will be remembered like Reagan. Hated by the extreme opposition, beloved by the Mushy Middle.
Quote from: stjaba on November 22, 2009, 12:08:21 PM
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on November 22, 2009, 09:52:27 AM
Quote from: Strix on November 22, 2009, 09:46:58 AM
Obama getting elected will be worth a paragraph in school text books. Nothing he has done, to date, is noteworthy. I doubt anyone will remember anything about healthcare. It's a hot topic but not historic unless it crushes what's left of the economy with taxes to pay for it.
Unless race somehow becomes unimportant in the future while Obama gets no credit for it, he will be fussed over just for being the first black President.
Yeah, but that will diminish with time. For example, no one really makes a big deal of the fact that JFK was the first Catholic president, but it was huge at the time.
We didn't enslave Catholics for 258 years.
Quote from: Fate on November 22, 2009, 05:33:32 PM
No, Bush fills Hoover's skin quite well. :lol:
That line would have the Jon Stewart audience peeing their pants and it makes no sense.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on November 22, 2009, 05:41:07 PM
Quote from: Fate on November 22, 2009, 05:33:32 PM
No, Bush fills Hoover's skin quite well. :lol:
That line would have the Jon Stewart audience peeing their pants and it makes no sense.
The parallel between Bush and Hoover is being made in terms of popularity, not necessarily policy. What doesn't make sense?
Quote from: Fate on November 22, 2009, 05:44:58 PM
The parallel between Bush and Hoover is being made in terms of popularity, not necessarily policy. What doesn't make sense?
My bad. I thought you were responding about history's view of the two.
Two comments, for starters
1. We need a definition of 'recent' for this thread to make sense
2. There is 'fast history' happening in days or weeks at the most (Fall of the Wall, First Man on Space, 9/11) and there is 'slow history' (Demographic Revolution, Civil Rights, Internet, European Union...) and things somehow in between, like the 'Great 2007 Recession'.
If we accept recent as a decade, then IMHO Obama's election and 9/11 compete for the most important thing in fast history, and the economic recession competes with China's aspirations to great power status in slow history. Perhaps (probably, indeed) some day 500 years in the future when they think about these years they will focus on global warming, nuclear weapons proliferation, the Treaty of Lisbon, the LHC, ITER or advances in genetics and cloning...
Some things will look far larger, others will matter only to historians. We just can't know which.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on November 22, 2009, 05:41:07 PM
Quote from: Fate on November 22, 2009, 05:33:32 PM
No, Bush fills Hoover's skin quite well. :lol:
That line would have the Jon Stewart audience peeing their pants and it makes no sense.
<_<
I like Jon Stewart.
I don't know if the recession will be all that big in history books. No one talks about the recessions of the late 1890s, for example. If suddenly things get worse and 20%+ of people are unemployed, then yeah.
Quote from: Alatriste on November 23, 2009, 03:03:29 AM
Two comments, for starters
1. We need a definition of 'recent' for this thread to make sense
2. There is 'fast history' happening in days or weeks at the most (Fall of the Wall, First Man on Space, 9/11) and there is 'slow history' (Demographic Revolution, Civil Rights, Internet, European Union...) and things somehow in between, like the 'Great 2007 Recession'.
If we accept recent as a decade, then IMHO Obama's election and 9/11 compete for the most important thing in fast history, and the economic recession competes with China's aspirations to great power status in slow history. Perhaps (probably, indeed) some day 500 years in the future when they think about these years they will focus on global warming, nuclear weapons proliferation, the Treaty of Lisbon, the LHC, ITER or advances in genetics and cloning...
Some things will look far larger, others will matter only to historians. We just can't know which.
I don't think that Obama's election will really be that big a deal in the long term. It's an important indication that racism is receding in this country, but we're still a ways from having a color-blind society, and anyway that makes it more a symbol than anything else.
Quote from: HisMajestyBOB on November 23, 2009, 03:09:29 AM
I don't know if the recession will be all that big in history books. No one talks about the recessions of the late 1890s, for example. If suddenly things get worse and 20%+ of people are unemployed, then yeah.
I agree. Unemployment still hasn't reach the level of the 80s and no one ever talks about that recession.