Watching the news in the last ten years has been like watching the "best of" reel from the End of Days; rioting, environmental catastrophe, political and economic instability, war, famine, disease. Our government is as partisan and unpopular as it's been in quite some time, and the rest of the country seems to be breaking down along ideological divides as well. It's easy to believe, particularly American politics being what they are, that we are on the cusp of some major watershed moment in our nation's history; that some pivotal moment in our history is within arm's reach. But is it? The promotional materials for a new round of American History textbooks calls the period from 1988 to 2008, "the most pivotal time in American history." In Atlantic Monthly this week, editor Conor Friedersdorf goes against the socially discontent grain, and says that actually, when you look back at what our country has actually gone through, that 20-year span isn't really so notable.

     Here are a few examples of Friedersdorf's heavy hitters of recent decades:

• 1968 to 1988 -- The end of the Vietnam War, MLK and RFK assassinated, the moon landing, Woodstock, DARPA creates the Internet, Nixon goes to China, Watergate, the personal computer, the Reagan Revolution, and (although we didn't quite know it at the time) the Soviet Union lost the Cold War.
• 1948 to 1968 -- The post-war economic boom, the Baby Boom, the GI Bill, the Civil Rights movement, the Korean War, the beginning of the Vietnam War.
• 1928 to 1948 -- The Great Depression, The New Deal and World War II. Enough said.

     Going back further and you're looking at World War I, Reconstruction, Industrialization, Civil War, Western Expansion, etc. There are two outstanding insights one gains in looking back at history in this fashion. The first is that our country really has not been around all that long. it may feel that, being the world power, we've just always been a fixture of international politics, economic superpower, and sole owners and proprietor's of a good portion of this continent, but it just isn't true.

     The second, which is far more important, is that to a certain degree, Friedersdorf has a point. We have accomplished more and overcome more than any single generation (except for perhaps the "Greatest" one) can truly understand. So for all of our bickering and brinksmanship along ideological grounds, and all of the retrospective pining over "the good ole days", we really didn't have that much to complain about. But that's just it...we're not looking at single generations anymore.

     To say that it wasn't pivotal in any way (or as pivotal as others) is an unfair assertion, and although Friedersdorf does make a few disclaimers in this direction, it doesn't go far enough. He writes, "The September 11 terrorist attacks were pivotal, but so far, they don't compare to the most significant events in each of the intervals above." I find it difficult to believe that the event that has launched us into the longest and most expensive military engagement in our history. He also writes, "The rise of the Internet is noteworthy too, but for all it has changed, there have been many technological advancements that mattered more." Really? The internet has single-handedly relocated a substantial part of our economy into a land of virtual currency. Cyberspace has been named a U.S. operational theater. Schools, print media, the music industry, and tangible currency are all in danger of becoming obsolete unless they adapt to suit the Internet age.

     I think the shortcoming in Friedersdorf's thinking is that we don't yet have the historical perspective to see just how pivotal these events are.  Pivotal "moments" like 9/11, the rise of the Internet, and even the importance of the Global Warming question could become drastically more significant in our national dialogue depending on the near future shakes out. Imagine Afghanistan spilling over into some other Middle East engagement (like Iran), internet finance replacing wallets like the founder of Paypal predicted, or environmental degradation becoming so pronounced that denying climate change no longer becomes a tenable position? Will we look back on pivotal moments in American history and say that the period from 1988 to 2008 was really essential in what came later? Possibly. I guess the take-home message here is: only time will tell.