Reply #5: A tumultuous time [View All]

[Big Sky Boy]

Yes they were self-indulgent and excessive.

But after a decade of double-digit unemployment, double-digit inflation and double digit interest rates, an unpopular war and a failed presidency--weren't we entitled to party like it was 1999?

The advent of synthesized music -- technopop and Eurofag (and I do not use that term in a demeaning way. I loved it.) Happy music. I'm So Excited. I Just Can't Get Enough.

Yes it was fed by massive government spending and there was no way to sustain it, but the economy was growing at a fast clip and for the first time in nearly 60 years, common people believed they actually might be able to share some of that wealth.

Optimism.

I did not like Reagan, but I respected him. As misguided as I thought he almost always was, I honestly believed in his heart of hearts, he was doing what he thought was best for the country. I cannot say the same about the current administration. As far as I can tell they are in politics for the sole purpose of furthering their own selfish self interests--robbing the treasury to enrich themselves and pay off the people who helped them get there.

The fall of the Berlin Wall. The collapse of Apartheid. The crumbling of the Kremlin. Joyous moments overshadowed by Tianeman Square.

241 Marines killed in Beirut. The Challenger Disaster. The 100th Birthday of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. The 50th Birthday of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Gay Related Immune Deficiency -- later to become known as AIDS. Painful moments of grief and lost loved ones.

It would be nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there anymore.