Generations 2000s: News Edition
- Christian Clark
- Jul 4, 2018
- 9 min read
Written in March 2018- Journalism Class @ Cosby High in Midlothian
In the final installment of the “Generations 2000s” series, we take a look the more consequential news stories since the year 2000. This list of fifteen news stories have shaped how we operate as a country and how Americans will carry out their lives since the aftermath of these events.
1. 9/11
Undoubtedly, the attacks conducted by al-Qaeda on September 11th, 2001 is the most influential event in the United States since 2000 and maybe in American history. 3,000 fatalities and another 6,000 were injured in the two-part plan, led by Osama Bin Laden. American Airlines Flights 11 and 175 crashed into the North and South Twin Towers, respectively.
The second part was another plane which crashed into the side of the Pentagon’s west side. Another potentially devastating strike was foiled. The plane known today as Flight 93, crashed down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The passengers overtook the hijacked plane and forced it from reaching its rumored destination, the White House. Those valiant men and women should be viewed as heroes for limiting the disaster. 9/11 will be remembered for decades to come. In response to these attacks, President Bush established the Department of Homeland Security to combat foreign crime. Luckily, the United States would be avenged as a coinciding event will be unveiled later on this list.
2. Obama/Trump election
There is no doubt that both the 2008 and 2016 elections changed the course of American politics forever and manipulated our perception of what type of politicians can get elected into government’s biggest job. On one hand, we have Barack Obama, who broke the usual stereotype of a old, white male taking the presidency. Obama was forty-seven years old when he took office as well as being the first African-American to become President of the United States. On the other hand, our current president, Donald Trump, was hardly a politician until his stunning win in the 2016 election. Trump was a financial mogul and even had his own television show, The Apprentice. Many believed that Trump’s bid to the presidency was faux until he beat out 17 other candidates to win. In a nation full of racial tension, these two men have the ability to “Make America Great Again,” or not. With all that said, the 2000s have demonstrated that anyone can break the trend of the “norm” and continue to make progression in our nation.
3. Iraq War- Saddam Hussein captured
During President Bush’s term, our nation set a goal to take out the regime of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. As Britannica describes, “The subsequent war unfolded in two distinct phases: a short one-sided conventional war in which coalition forces suffered fewer than 200 fatalities in just over a month of major combat operations, and an insurgency that continued for years and claimed tens of thousands of lives.” When forces were withdrawn, nearly 85,000 Iraqi civilians were killed with more estimated. The war lead to a weakened world economy as well as another terrorist group bent on mass destruction: ISIS.
4. Economic Recession- Stock Market
Irrational Exuberance is the reason for the 2008 Recession. What is “Irrational Exuberance?” Glad you asked. It is basically when investors think so highly of their assets value that they lose vision of its underlying value. In turn, they actually drive prices up as investors get into a bidding war. An excerpt by Kimberly Amadeo perfectly describes the situation better than I ever could:
“In 2006, the bubble burst as housing prices started to decline. This caught many homeowners off guard, who had taken loans with little money down. As they realized they would lose money by selling the house for less than their mortgage, they foreclosed. By August 2007, banks became afraid to lend to each other because they didn't want these toxic loans as collateral. By December 2008, employment was declining faster than in the 2001 recession.”
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was easily the worst economic crisis in American history but this was pretty darn close.
5. Hurricane Katrina
The city of New Orleans is at or below sea level. That is why levees are there at the coast to protect the vulnerable city. When NOLA’s infrastructure failed them, it put thousands of lives in jeopardy and charged Hurricane Katrina’s path to destruction in the most costly hurricane sans Hurricane Harvey. What made Hurricane Katrina worse than every other hurricane is that the poorly designed layout caused excess water and debris to flow through the city, trapping many who stayed, to their death. Many survivors were kept at the Louisiana Superdome, home the the NFL’s Saints. Katrina changed the way we prepare for hurricanes, by taking all precautions necessary, and how much money our nation will spend to save lives in natural disasters.
6. Al Gore/Bush election
537. That was the difference in votes between Al Gore or George W. Bush becoming the 43rd President of the United States. It was mass chaos on Election Night. The state of Florida was still “TBD” and the fate of the election hung in the balance. After processing the votes, Bush had won Florida by .009% or 537 votes. The Supreme Court decision of Bush v Gore was the closest in American history. It sparked some debate of whether or not we should refine how we elect our government leaders. This has been revisited in the 2016 Election as well due to a popular vote vs electoral college debate. Some democrats have criticized Ralph Nader for splitting the left-wing vote and ultimately costing Al Gore the election.
7. Mass Shootings: Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Orlando, & Mandalay Bay
The most recent mass shooting occurred in Las Vegas near the Mandalay Bay resort. Stephen Paddock used thousands of rounds of ammunition to shoot and kill 58 people and injured nearly 500 more. Other major mass shootings include Sandy Hook Elementary, Orlando, Columbine in 1999, and Virginia Tech massacre in 2007. The recent trend of mass shootings is concerning and has added fuel to whether Americans should be able to purchase personal guns or not. AR-15’s have been the “instrument” of choice in the recent shootings and the topic of gun control is sure to come up. At the moment of this writing, another shooting in Parkland, Florida has taken even more lives. The biggest question is whether the individual or the gun is the bigger issue.
8. US NAVY SEALS take down Osama Bin Laden
The manhunt to take down the leader of Al Qaeda and the man responsible for 9/11 comes in at number 8. Any American citizen should cringe at the name of Osama Bin Laden. Prior to 2011, the government and armed forces were unable to track down his location. However, on April 29th, 2011, Obama and a group of 25 NAVY SEALS were able to track down his precise location. In the forty minute operation, Osama and a few others including his son were shot and killed in the firefight. President Obama called this “the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.” The lives taken by 9/11 can never be replaced but a small consolation is that justice is served to one of America’s Most Wanted at the time.
9. Rise of North Korea; Iran Nuclear Race
Is Donald Trump’s nuclear “button” really bigger than Rocket Man’s? Hopefully, we never get to find out. The threat of a potential nuclear war is serious enough to have made constant headlines. That being said, nuclear bomb tests have been going on for over a decade now. In 2006, an underground nuclear device in North Korea was tested without radiation leakage. Recently, on July 4th, 2017, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), named Hwasong-14 was tested. North Korea says they have the capability of starting a international nuclear war but nothing but meaningless threats have come out of it. As for Iran, the Iran Nuclear Deal was signed by the United States, Great Britain, Russia, France, China, and Germany to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Crisis averted...for now.
10. Police Brutality
Let me get one thing straight before I begin. I am not attacking police officers. These men and women are amazing and are needed in our society. What they do for our country is crucial and we need heroic individuals that do their job the right way. That being said, while 95% of the law enforcement officers do their job the correct way, the 5% that don’t are a travesty to our nation. Here are some of the “notable” individuals senselessly murdered by poorly trained police:
Alton Sterling. Philando Castile. Michael Brown. Keith Scott. Freddie Gray. Christian Taylor. Even Trayvon Martin was killed even though the killer, George Zimmerman was part of the “Neighborhood Watch Program.”
One thing I will say is people who want to do the same thing to police are completely wrong. Trying to avenge a death with a death is defeating the purpose of BLM or any other group. The Black Lives Matter movement isn’t a hate group against police, contrary to popular belief. There are many immature people who want to burn down cities and harm law officials. They are the problem, not the movement. BLM was created to shed light on the injustices of the African American community and not to get revenge. Protests are okay. Violence is not.
11. BP Oil Spill
The Deepwater Horizon or “BP” Oil spill comes in at number 11. This unfortunate accident occurred when a surge of natural gas came through the concrete core where the oil was being held in the Gulf of Mexico. The natural gas ignited the rig, killing eleven people and injuring another seventeen people. While it was an accident, the repercussions still live on. After the explosion, 1.8 million gallons of dispersants were pumped directly into the leak location. In total, around 1,100 miles of shoreline was polluted. BP was sued in the New Orleans Civil Court for violating the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act. In March of 2012, claims were settled to those affected directly worth over $7.8 billion. Environmentally, various species of birds, mammals, and sea turtles were covered with oil. The effects of this accident still are lingering today.
12. ISIS
At number 12 is ISIS. This group originated from the end of the Iraq War and became a force after taking over Mosul in 2014. ISIS is known for their ruthless murders and violence in the Middle East (Iraq and Syria). The worst part is videos of American brutally killed on live broadcast with no sympathy or humane treatment. Lucky for us, the following of ISIS was never going to be sustainable. This group is rapidly dying down as the threat has decreased to the point where the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant will be completely vanished within no time.
13. Boston Marathon bombing
A theme in this list is unfortunately the act of Terrorism. The next sickening event occurred on April 15th, 2013. At the annual Boston Marathon, the Tsarnaev Brothers placed shrapnel in pressure-cooker bombs hidden in backpacks. The result was several hundreds injured and three fatalities. Tamerlan’s cause of death was gunshot wounds and blunt trauma whereas Dzhokhar avoided the police until a manhunt led to law enforcement finding Dzhokhar in a boat on his property. He avoided death penalty but was obviously convicted of the crimes committed and is currently rotting in jail for the rest of his days. Again, terrorism has continued to spark the question of whether or not we need more government surveillance and protection in public facilities and blockbuster events like the Boston Marathon.
14. Death of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston
You’ve been hit by, you’ve been struck by a smooth criminal. At number 14 is the death of the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson. Nearly three years later, another iconic American singer in Whitney Houston followed. Both Houston and Jackson causes of death were because of an overdose of drugs. Jackson’s one-glove style and famous “Moonwalk” ushered in new culture in the world of music. Some NFL athletes like quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater and Robert Griffin III have adopted the one-glove style on the gridiron. Houston’s voice charmed millions with iconic songs such as “I Will Always Love You” and “Greatest Love of All.” Both legacies will live on for generations.
15. Cubs, Red Sox among teams to end sporting droughts
This is on the fine line between news stories and sports but I thought for historical significance, this meant much more to these cities than just sports. Two of the most popular franchises reside in Chicago and Boston. With their NFL, NBA, and NHL counterparts all with championship runs, it was time for baseball to have its time in the sun. In the 2003 ALCS, the Boston Red Sox overcame a 0-3 series lead to stun the Yankees in Game 7 in an eventual World Series Championship. Meanwhile, Chicago’s North Siders got to witness the Cubs overcome a 3-1 series deficit to win the 2016 World Series.
Honorable Mention: Harambe & the Cincinnati Zoo
The world’s most famous gorilla gets an honorable mention on this list. I know, I know. Don’t laugh. I was never going to put the Cincinnati Zoo incident on this list as it is a trivial matter compared to the news stories that made this list. However, I wanted to highlight why I thought it deserved some consideration.
On May 28, 2016, Harambe, a western lowland gorilla, dragged a three-year old boy who got past the feeble enclosure. Harambe was ultimately shot after a ten-minute excursion around the pen. A decision was made by the zoo-workers in fears that the young boy would be killed. It caused a national uproar of whether or not Harambe was actually going to kill the child or not. Other arguments included whether the gorilla should’ve even been in captivity, whether the parents should be charged, or . On a lighter note, some pretty interesting satire and memes arose from the late gorillas death. Harambe will live on!
http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=2864 -Hurricane Katrina
http://ocean.si.edu/gulf-oil-spill and https://www.britannica.com/event/Deepwater-Horizon-oil-spill-of-2010 -BP Oil Spill
https://www.thebalance.com/causes-of-economic-recession-3306010 -Economic Recession
Kim Jong Pic via The Rag Blog
Michael Jackson photo courtesy of CNN
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