What will come in the second decade of the 21st Century?

In a few days, the year 2010 will be upon us, marking the end of the first decade of the Twenty-first Century. It has been a decade since Americans and people around the world feared the so called Y2K computer glitch. That glitch did not come to pass, but so much did happen in the first decade of the Twenty-first Century.

First, there was the Presidential election of 2000. Who can forget the controversy over the vote in Florida that year as George W. Bush became only the second son of a President to become President. Like his predecessor in such an honor, John Q. Adams, Bush was elected President in controversy without enjoying a majority in the popular vote. The controversy around the 2000 Presidential vote tested America’s constitutional resolve and led to widespread election ballot reforms.

Less than a year after that test, America faced another test when the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 occurred. The United States rallied behind the once controversial President George W. Bush and the heroes and victims of that day. War in Afghanistan and Iraq resulted from that day. Sweeping reforms to airline regulations and personal communications were passed through with the Patriot Act.

In 2004, President Bush was re-elected, in part due to his leadership on the War on Terror. Eight months into President Bush’s second term, the very leadership in crisis traits Bush was lauded for became his second term’s undoing. Hurricane Katrina struck and the city of New Orleans, especially, was devastated. Horror stories about people left stranded and the horrors of what went on in the Louisiana Super Dome made the national news night after night. President Bush and the federal government seemed inept. Poor folks stranded on roof tops and struggling to survive in what became the filth of the Super Dome defined all that was wrong with America to so many.

That apparent ineptness turned into a national disgust. That national disgust led to the Democrats taking over Congress for the first time in 12 years in 2006. In the aftermath of the Democrats’ victory came finger pointing about every Bush policy from agriculture to the space program. Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld, the hero of the first Bush term, resigned in disgrace. Nancy Pelosi, once a California political hack, made history as the first woman to become Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

What followed was a mish mash of political events that created the atmosphere of 2008. Democrats and Republicans, both influenced by lobbyists, combined to create policies that lead to the great financial crisis of the Fall of 2008 and the great bailout of financial institutions. That sense of crisis aided in the historic election of Barack Obama as President of the United States.

The election of President Obama created a false sense of hope in America and around the world. After only two weeks in office, President Obama was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. As 2009 comes to an end, President Obama is sending more troops to Afghanistan and the American economic situation still seems to be in trouble, despite an historic economic stimulus package that spent more money than ever in American history. Indeed, in 2009, millions of Americans took the streets against that stimulus plan and against Obama’s health insurance stimulus plan.

What an incredible decade. First, we had a Presidential election that redefined how we approached such. Then, we suffered terrorist attacks that sparked two wars and forever changed our daily routines in so many endeavors. Then came Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, which created an electoral shift that resulted in the historic election of Barack Obama in 2008. President Obama and the Democrats in Congress then in turn created a situation in 2009 that revived the soul of the conservative movement.

Though it all, great political names, on the right and left, fell. Governors of New York and New Jersey fell to their sins. Mark Sanford kept his office, but fell as a national figure. (Sanford’s attempt to define so many SC Republicans as “RINOs” went down in flames with his June trip to Argentina.) America lost the likes of Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Strom Thurmond to that old foe, death. Legendary banks went down. China became a world economic power.

Indeed, in the past decade, so much has happened to redefine politics and history that was unforeseen. Think about it. George W. Bush was the Governor of Texas ten years ago. Barack Obama was a young Illinois state senator. Few, if any, had heard of Osama Bin Laden. Such are things to keep in mind as we embrace the changes and flow of history that will come during the second decade of the Twenty-first Century.