There are lots of competing lists out there of top news stories, so I have decided to contribute my own. I rank these not in terms of flashiness or popularity but their significance and potential for long lasting impact in 21st century history.
1) Barack Obama Elected as Forty-Fourth President of the United States. No one can deny the magnitude of Obama’s accomplishment in becoming the first African-American president in American history. Only time and the actions of his administration will judge the success of his presidency, but, even Obama dissenters like me will admit that his election will leave a permanent mark on our nation’s political and social landscape.
2) Sarah Palin Runs for Vice-President. Palin’s run with McCain is not nearly as important as its implications for the 2012 election. I believe her appearance on the American political scene has brought to light the deep divides between the Christian and socially-liberal wings of the Republican Party- if Palin attempts to run in 2012, this division could lead to an all-out rupture between the two wings of the party.
3) Russia-Georgian War Again, the event itself is not as important as its implications for the future. With this conflict we have learned that there are deep divisions of interests between the liberal-democratic West and the increasingly totalitarian Russian state. We witness the beginnings of an attempted re-polarization not seen for many decades.
4) Financial Crisis The world will either reaffirm its faith in capitalism or condemn the liberalized markets that brought so much growth over the last two centuries by turning to protectionism, regulation, and state intervention.
5) The Death of Aleksander Solzhenitsyn. The death of the little-known giant of a human being who was referred to by many as the “Man of the 20th century” reminds us of the growing challenges we will face in this 21st century.
I agree with this list pretty much; the only thing that I think is missing is the deployment of the “surge” into Iraq. If the success of it can carry over far into the future, I think Iraq has the potential of being a strong ally in the Middle East, and its success could be key in providing some form of stability to the region. Otherwise great article.
P.S. I notice you are partial to stories involving Russia. I wonder why this is?…
1) I agree with jmb582 on the importance of the surge – those knowledgeable on the Iraq condition seem to be agreeing that the surge is making great improvements there. As far as whether it makes the top 5 or not, I do not know.
2) You are extremely partial towards Russian developments.
3) Recent Russian developments are extremely frightening and worse, extremely familiar, thus warranting their place in your list.
I agree about the Russian partiality; the Solzhenitsyn story making the list was my own little personal touch- it was more symbolic of an event than anything, and only history will determine the significance of this symbolism.
The Russian partiality was actually supposed to be a joke, but nevertheless good points were raised. The recent Russian developments are, to say the least, not the type of Russian developments I would like to see. And they only get more and more uncomfortable as the days wear on.