Aughts Preview

By: Jordan Rowe

It’s hard to believe we are about to turn the page on the 2000s. Truth be told, I’m not sure any other decade in recent history can compare to the so called, “Aughts.” Granted, this is the first decade that I am able to accurately reflect back on since I was born in 1990, and have rough if any sketches of the late 90s. But, stop and think for a moment. America and the world have traveled a long way since the problem of the 00s existed. The nation fought over who won Florida in the 2000 Presidential Election. We cradled our children upon seeing the attacks of 9/11. Our society discovered social networking, and hasn’t been able to get off Facebook since. We cheered with Iraq’s citizens upon the toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein. The nation fell silent upon word of the shootings at Virginia Tech. We watched Michael Phelps swim, night after night, for 8 gold medals in Beijing. We were awed by a pilot’s landing of a plane in the Hudson River. And we saw the first black man elected to the nation’s highest office. But, I have only scratched the surface of the major events of this past decade. That’s why over the course of the next few weeks, “The Aughts” Project will summarize and analyze the events of the past decade, in depth, two years at a time. The Project also seeks to identify overarching themes of the period in hopes of differentiating it from other previous decades. So please allow us to raise a glass to the past, and take a look back at the first decade of the 21st century.