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Maybe Things Aren't So Bad After All
December 12, 2005

A recent survey of more than 350 history professors says that other times in American History were considerably more trying than the era we are living in today. According to the survey, as bad as things may sometimes seem in this post-9/11 world, when put into perspective and compared to other times in our nation's history, the issues we are dealing with today pale in comparison to events such as the Civil War and Great Depression.

Personally, I tend to agree with the survey, and the perspective it offers should make us feel better about the world today...but my real concern is not about whether today is better or worse than the past....my real concern is for the future. Terrorism, China, nuclear Iran and North Korea, continued dependence on foreign oil, global warming, massive government debts, an aging U.S. population, and a growing disparity between rich and poor are just a few of the issues that must be seriously and effectively addressed or these same historians may feel very differently when asked this same question a few decades from now.

Posted by Michael Kempner at December 12, 2005 09:43 AM