The 'Noughties' - A Eulogy

Divided and United

Goodbye, dear Noughties, the first complete decade of my life. I turned 9years of age in the first July of the new millennium, and I turned 18 in the last year of the first decade of the new millennium… wow. From the humble seat I took in this new century, here is what I surmised.

There have been a number of things which made the 200x’s a decade of immense upheaval.

Social networking really took off in the second half of the decade (though it had been around since the nineties), and it completely revolutionised social relations. No longer would old school friends lose contact with one another after they graduated. A new, extroverted culture erupted on the internet, with statuses and activities reflecting the moods of social-network-site users. But of course, mobile technology for the masses, and very handy technology at that, made communication very easy, stylish and dare I say it… sexy. Mobile phones had evolved from their brick sized (and weighted) ancestors with only monophonic ringtones and SMS messaging to boast about, to miniature computers, with complete touch screens, proper internet (not the snail-like WAP of days gone by) and high resolution camera facilities. Phones became fashion icons.

The widespread of availability of internet, and increased computer-literacy rate meant that people from across the world could bandy together to unite and support causes. For good or for bad. It is easier to unite over the internet as it requires a minimum effort and you do not have to see who it is that you are uniting with. This removes any initial prejudice. The most recent success of Rage Against The Machine for Christmas number one, overthrowing Simon Cowell’s dominion of Christmas is exemplary of this notion. Of course, Facebook comes to mind when we think of this (probably because all anybody does is join groups these days, I have often said that you can tell the character of someone now by simply reading all of the pages they’ve joined, you don’t even need to speak to them anymore… weird, try explaining that to a Victorian), but there are other means which allow people to come together for a common cause; Youtube, MySpace, MSN messenger (not a website but close enough in this context) just to name a few.

The music industry underwent a complete makeover. The rise of Peer to peer sharing diminished chart sales, meaning that the charts were no longer representative of what music people were interested in. Music went truly digital. Ipods and MP3 players meant that you didn’t need to carry CD’s and cassettes around with you everywhere. You could store thousands of tracks on a device the size of a pack of cards, only it was thinner and lighter, and you could play cards on it. Many artists could now gain global recognition, despite not gaining any TV exposure and only limited radio exposure, on an obscure pirate radio station being broadcast from the Siberian wastes. Music lost one of its Kings in Michael Jackson, one of the most prolific artists of all time, and also gained 50 cent, one of the most prolific losses in music history.

The gaming industry took off with its close-to-life graphics and amazing interactivity providing a most immersing and delightful experience. Similar technology, though decidedly more refined was used in the film industry to bring to life the most fantastic worlds and wonderful stories. This newfound technology was welcomed by most with open arms, as it served very well to detract from the pre-apocalyptic world we live in today.

Yes, if we believed everything they said in the papers, it should be doomsday by now. The newspapers have still retained a considerable amount of influence in this digital decade, which I must say, is surprising. I don’t think that newspapers and books will ever become obsolete. They are very handy, if I must say so myself. They have literally endured for millennia, and the new kids on the block aren’t going to overthrow them easily, especially seeing as our computers have many functional parts thus increasing the probability of breakdown.

Terrorism does seem to have been a problem this decade. Of course, terrorism has existed for as long as the word ‘terror’ has existed. But this was terrorism as a means of war. From the sounds of things, nobody is safe from the terrorists. Well dammit, I’ll just have to sit at home all day and watch your news program some more, so you can earn even more money. Yes, there are coward terrorists out there, but it’s not as bad as everyone thinks… well not here anyway. If you really want ‘bad’, go to Gaza or Iraq where innocent people are in danger of losing their entire families, and they’re not even safe in their homes. Buying into the climate of fear only feeds those willing to tear us apart; their greatest weapon is the spreading of fear, discord and distrust. Denaturing society and causing it to descend into anarchy. This is their ultimate victory, and they are on the way to achieving it. Death is simply the by-product of their terrorism. ‘Divide and conquer’, as the old adage goes.

The tragic attacks of September 11th 2001 changed the global view overnight. New, controversial wars were waged, more innocent lives were lost (on both sides) and countries, peoples and cultures were thrown into disgrace. The media was still the same old dog that it always was, meaning that it was largely responsible for the portrayal of all of these people. Americans turned stupid, Muslims turned terrorists, Somalians turned pirates… the list goes on and on. America ventures into Afghanistan and Iraq after September 11th, and Britain thought it would be a wonderful idea to follow suit. We all need a good war from time to time, I suppose.

Of course, the villains of the 21st century haven't only been bearded Middle Eastern folk as popular culture likes to indicate. There have been injstices and mass murders the world over, in Africa, China, Pakistan, The Middle East, Tibet, Burma, Georgia... the list is extensive. The world is a cruel place.

Mother Nature herself decided to unleash her fury, the boxing day tsunami, the Kashmir Earthquake, the Burma Cyclones, the Darfur famine, another extensive list of which I can barely scratch the surface.An economic crisis, the likes of which had not been seen in God-knows-how-long occurred. My understanding of economics is limited at best… but many people lost their jobs, businesses were driven to the ground and people were disgraced. This further fed the climate of fear and confusion which gripped the western world. People started playing the blame game, incited hate and so on. The People really didn’t so themselves much justice this decade, then again, when do they?

We have seen the rise of China and India as globally recognised powers and we have seen the true colours of our world leaders. Warmongers, crooks, liars and so on. Politicians have never been a trusted lot, but they really got hit hard this decade. We saw the resident superpower elect its first black president, Mr Barack Obama, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the beating of Berlusconi, the execution of Saddam Hussein, the resignation of Tony Blair and so on.

Science continued to deliver breakthroughs such as new preservation techniques for hearts for heart transplants, the heart can be kept beating and alive outside of the body to preserve it for longer, until its eventual transplant. Also, the most ambitious scientific experiment ever, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN was constructed, and is currently probing the mysteries of the ancient universe. The solar system ‘lost’ a planet, farewell Pluto. The genetic revolution continued, with the completion of the human genome project and various groundbreaking breakthroughs in genetics and biochemistry which have proven to be crucial in the fight against cancer.

So what has the new millennium/century/decade given us so far?A climate of fear and distrust, elevated violence, the cyberspace revolution, further idiocy, social networking, ultra cool mobile phones, even more ravenous media with no regard for human decency, division, unison, an ever more interactive internet, medical miracles, war, colossal debt you could resink the titanic in, ever more immersing virtual worlds, terrorism, chavs, cyber-warfare, identity theft and the X factor. Cringe or Clap, it’s your choice, but these are the ideas that will be carried forward to start the next decade, and to greet those born in this decade who are just gaining their self awareness. To all, a happy new year, a happy new decade, and a happy new hernia.

“Sing us a song of the century

That’s louder than bombs and eternity

The era of static and contraband

That’s leading us to the Promised Land

Tell us a story that’s by candlelight

Waging a war and losing the fight

They’re playing the song of the century

Of panic and promise and prosperity

Tell me a story into that goodnight

Sing us a song for me”

-Green Day

…That about sums it up.

Captain Nitrogen out.