tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post5278370047725913942..comments2023-06-20T02:25:36.578-07:00Comments on The Scholar's Stage: If You Were to Write a History of 21st Century America, What Would It Look Like?T. Greerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04621529800248145193noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-28302084775637244572020-06-30T11:05:57.370-07:002020-06-30T11:05:57.370-07:00As the thread has come back to life, you'd def...As the thread has come back to life, you'd definitely have a new chapter to include now. Ch.10 - The Masters of Narrative Collide With Riboxynucleic RealityAlexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17153530634675543954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-2705120870044915062020-06-26T16:00:59.662-07:002020-06-26T16:00:59.662-07:00I'm very late but just discovered this blog an...I'm very late but just discovered this blog and this post was some good food for thought. (The blog is great, by the way, and there are reasonable comments! Quite an amazing feat.)<br /><br />Anyway, I'd just like to point out that while I agree with others that 2004 isn't the ideal starting point for this, I partly disagree with 9/11 being the starting point. Now, 9/11 is clearly a VJVnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-38729305903018570392019-08-12T05:05:25.186-07:002019-08-12T05:05:25.186-07:00Chapter Four should probably be rolled into Eight....Chapter Four should probably be rolled into Eight.<br /><br />In any case this is similar to an idea of mine (Lives on Hold: A Verbal History of the Crisis and After - verbal because a lot of the characteristics of oral history pertain, but not the medium.)Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17153530634675543954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-39199140404767382852019-07-20T17:04:07.477-07:002019-07-20T17:04:07.477-07:00You could include a piece on the undue influence I...You could include a piece on the undue influence Israel has over US foreign Policy.Antoinetta IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05508535726369285499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-192039320377404992019-07-05T03:27:13.405-07:002019-07-05T03:27:13.405-07:00Nice layout. If you wanted, I'm sure you could...Nice layout. If you wanted, I'm sure you could publish this as a collection of essays, or hire out ghost writers for different chapters. I could write a chapter or two if you're open to it.collegereactionaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04105914768257406439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-38564731163477651992019-06-26T01:48:03.685-07:002019-06-26T01:48:03.685-07:00I almost forgot this. In "Chapter Fifteen: Ro...I almost forgot this. In "Chapter Fifteen: Romance and Sex in the 2010", you should add a sub-section on the rise of "alternate sexualities" (i.e. transexualism, gender nonbinary, gender queer, etc.) among late millenials and most notably in Gen Z'ers. If you can squeeze in some room, you can include how much of it was proselytized and spread on social media, and how RastraPalanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-69183612036147012482019-06-26T01:43:02.791-07:002019-06-26T01:43:02.791-07:00I second Jim H. on the topic of population migrat...I second Jim H. on the topic of population migration. Specifically, you can even dedicate two sections on migration: legal v.s. illegal, their economic/demographic impact upon Red and Blue America + electoral map, and how they "intersect" with the rise of identity politics in the 2010's. <br />One additional section that hasn't been brought up yet: domestic terrorism. Islamic, RastraPalanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-45901957462334343312019-06-23T11:13:06.679-07:002019-06-23T11:13:06.679-07:00Automation? What automation. There has been a mass...Automation? What automation. There has been a massive productivity stagnation. Focus on that. The rest looks surprisingly good, though. Also, only one mention of the New Cold War with Russia -needs more exploration. 2004 is an awkward time politically and technologically to start, but makes for a very, very good contrast with our era.<br /><br />"This ends somewhere around 2004-2005 or so. pithomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13997094225496018110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-17851213902971214502019-06-21T09:35:31.643-07:002019-06-21T09:35:31.643-07:00Very interesting look at contemporary history, one...Very interesting look at contemporary history, one I would surely read.<br /><br />I would like to point out one egregious gap: migration. Population migration in the 21st Century is quite possibly the single largest social, cultural, political, and environmental issue. It tends to remain below the surface because it doesn't directly effect the chattering/blogging classes. Its causes range Jim H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02088100982761595050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-30282523867768652942019-06-21T01:11:21.969-07:002019-06-21T01:11:21.969-07:00Where can I read this thread on reigning intellect...Where can I read this thread on reigning intellectual styles?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-65305248130802381992019-06-20T21:49:56.814-07:002019-06-20T21:49:56.814-07:00My take. I stripped things down heavily to what I ...<a href="https://www.waggish.org/2019/an-outline-of-21st-century-american-history/" rel="nofollow">My take.</a> I stripped things down heavily to what I thought were the essentials. I think the overriding theme may be that the 21st century has had an unprecedented amount of noise, and figuring out what's essential is probably the hardest task of all.David Auerbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07066865720450132692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-76325600247512085282019-06-20T00:08:19.771-07:002019-06-20T00:08:19.771-07:00I would honestly start this book all the way back ...I would honestly start this book all the way back with a description of the post Cold War order and 'consensus' that was established in 1989 and whose unravelling has been the real story of the past two decades.<br /><br />But the narrative proper should definitely begin with September 11, 2001 (though perhaps with some mention of the Enron scandal, as a foreshadowing of what was to come Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-5639673149220451522019-06-19T12:06:58.043-07:002019-06-19T12:06:58.043-07:00(2/2)
The culture war also seems to cut itself in...(2/2)<br /><br />The culture war also seems to cut itself into three eras, but perhaps in different ways. We have:<br /><br />- the Clintonite Moderation, an era in which abortion was safe, legal and above all rare, same-sex marriage was still a minority opinion even among the young, and the consensus on racial politics was "I'm not racist, I don't see skin color". This ends Winthrop Wickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12451338396608983530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-76536908175504109862019-06-19T12:06:28.859-07:002019-06-19T12:06:28.859-07:00I think I would start at 9/11. I was six when it h...I think I would start at 9/11. I was six when it happened, and I have no memory of the broader pre-9/11 world. I don't remember flying in the 1990s, or the easy-goingness of border control, or the golden age of globalization.<br /><br />On the other hand, perhaps the best option is to move the starting option back by fifteen years, with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since 1989, we have moved:<Winthrop Wickardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-84892224536147087372019-06-18T17:32:11.793-07:002019-06-18T17:32:11.793-07:00Nothing on the rise/mainstreaming of transgenderis...Nothing on the rise/mainstreaming of transgenderism? And LBGT stuff generally?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-88090992757570413872019-06-18T16:15:22.043-07:002019-06-18T16:15:22.043-07:00Agree with others that what jumps out the most is ...Agree with others that what jumps out the most is your starting point being too late in 2004. I'm 57, so maybe I'm biased since I strongly recall the fall of the berlin wall. In any case, I'd add a prelude chapter. <br /><br />Chapter 0: Prelude to overreach (6 pages)<br />-- Utter surprise and shock at fall of communism 1989 (cold warriors built up the enemy, who in the end was a Nathan Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16464842857429695701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-78908003634880167142019-06-18T12:39:27.952-07:002019-06-18T12:39:27.952-07:00I agree that 2004 seems a possible if difficult st...I agree that 2004 seems a possible if difficult starting point, especially described as the high water mark of the unipolar moment. Maybe. I'd see the period 2001 starting on 9/11 and running through 2004 as the turn of that particular tide.<br /><br />SO on that I see where Andy is coming from.<br /><br />I would question any framework in which the policies of the Bush era qualify as "random observerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02348644823854777418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-76799485163895324742019-06-18T12:38:18.172-07:002019-06-18T12:38:18.172-07:00Probably you will have to include some external ev...Probably you will have to include some external events like: Arab Spring, Ukraine Maida, Putin, Xi Jinping, Euro crisis, Brexit. <br /><br />Thiel, Gawker and that wrestler judgement is a nice example of billionaire power versus social media power.<br /><br />Snowden,Anonymous and NSA.uair01https://www.blogger.com/profile/14538242264866015155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-19756686147180789342019-06-18T10:08:20.696-07:002019-06-18T10:08:20.696-07:00As someone born just slightly before your starting...As someone born just slightly before your starting date, I’d make the case that the crucial pivoting point between decades happened right around the 2006-2007. Experientially, that’s when the old (maybe second-generation) Internet that I felt native to in my childhood was replaced by the ecosystem of just a few unified aggregating platforms that we’re used to today. If I had to give a more Patrick Steinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04441820267430674385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-10976810655613811032019-06-18T06:02:20.672-07:002019-06-18T06:02:20.672-07:00I agree with Andy, though with a slightly less par...I agree with Andy, though with a slightly less partisan edge. 9/11 is easily the best bookend for our era, as the catalyst for a massive shift in American priorities. Of course, the challenge that I would have were I writing this book is that I would have been too young to reflect productively on the event (I was 10 at the time).Narrative Leapshttp://narrativeleaps.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-30137260547021262162019-06-18T02:14:59.543-07:002019-06-18T02:14:59.543-07:00And of course I'm missing the 'otaku' ...And of course I'm missing the 'otaku' perspective. I could tell of heated discussions in Kuro5hin. Or the young Republican youths complaining about the Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny pot shots at Bush and the Iraq War. ThePapernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-8723811791717116892019-06-18T02:05:33.696-07:002019-06-18T02:05:33.696-07:00Interesting. My start point would be a little ear...Interesting. My start point would be a little early in 2001 on 9/11 (and all the alternative news and conspiracy sites that sprung out from that) and the early war on Afghanistan. Too young for the 90s fall of the Soviet Union, the incorrectly named 'first' Gulf War from the 'first' Bush and the 'first' technological bubble (none of these were real firsts, just for Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378807093271153119.post-89651751798601590502019-06-18T00:28:49.315-07:002019-06-18T00:28:49.315-07:00I suspect every response will make this same basic...I suspect every response will make this same basic retort: you can't start at 2004 and glaze over 2001. The readiness of the American public to go along with the administrations' lies and subsequent vicious right-wing policies are surely directly attributable to 9/11. For nigh-on 2 centuries American had nonchalantly bombed and slaughtered civilians of far-away "shithole" Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05326700141376016305noreply@blogger.com