The election of 2008 was a very big turning point for America just 8 years into the new century so had happened. America was attack on 9/11, America was in wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the global war of terror and on top of the nation was facing the largest economy down turn since the Great Depression. On election day November 4^th, 2008 millions of Americas to elected the next President of the United States and choose a new direction for the country. The Democratic party had chosen Barrack Obama as their nominee a junior senator from Illinois. He chosen Joe Biden a senior senator from Delaware as his running mate. Then on the other ride the Republican party chose senior senator and Vietnam war hero John McCain of Arizona and with Sarah Palin the Governor of Alaska as his running mate. The stage was set on election night Obama made history becoming the first African American President winning in a landslide.

Winning wo terms as President and had a large impact on the nation bringing more progressive and excepting values to the country. Barrack Obama is very special, his voice, charisma, and message inspired millions of Americans in hope and better days to come. He was politician lightning the brought to life a huge grass roots movement almost very seen in American politics making huge speeches to thousands all of the country. No matter what you believe weather you supported him or not you have to give it to Obama a masterful politician, was able to speech with just style and character was like straight energy into the American people. The Democrats had themselves a Star and in 2008 with only being a U.S. Senator for three years was able to bring down Hillary Clinton former first lady and Senator to obtain his party’s nomination. Then in the general was able to win in a landslide against an all-American hero John McCain who had been a POW in Vietnam and had been serving as a senator for two decades. Obama had become the first African American president in history, he had broken down so many barrier and inspired a nation.

In his victory speech he was a humble winner and spoke of an American Dream that is no dead. “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonder if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer”. This speech brought tears to the eyes of many that believe change was coming to America. It is up to debate if Obama’s promise of “Hope and Change” was delivered but he was the face and voice of his party leading a movement in American politics.

The introduction of the smart phone has been a huge shift in American society and has truly changed not just how young people act but also how they think. My generation those of us that were born between 1995-2012 are known as generation Z or iGen. The only generation that do not remember a time without the internet and first generation to grow up with smart phones in our lives. The introduction of the iPhone in 2007 was one of the biggest changes in American society, it did not just change how we communicate it changed how we live, how we get places, how we learn, how we explore, entertain, and so much more. In most people’s everyday lives their phone probable has some part of it weather it’s waking them up or telling them the white loop is about to be at the station to get you to class.

It is so interesting to think that I come from a generation being born in 2000 that has never known peace and has no memory of life without the internet. The world is truly so different then when my parents grew up information and technology have changed and taken over everything we think about. If you want to see something truly terrifying go into setting on your phone and click on screen time it will tell you the number of hours you spend on your phone and specific apps every day. I personally spent over 34 hours on my phone last week 14 of which was on snapchat alone I am truly disturbed by this number. Imagine all the things you could do with 34 hours the work you could have done the books you could have read but no you spent to sending snaps and watching stupid things on YouTube. Our generation in on the verge on the biggest mental health crisis in history, millions of Americans are fully attached to their technology and their life and emotions rapped up into social media and the opinions of others. This is one of the biggest struggles for my generation as we come of age and are passed the torch to take the mantel of leadership, will we be able to overcome the changes faced by previous generations and lead our nation to a better state then when we found it? This is a question full of uncertainty and the only way for us to find the answer to look into ourselves see our problems and try to not just correct ourselves but our generation to put us back on track and less connected.

Then just think it have only been just over a decade since the iPhone was introduced to world, its hard to imagine what will come next in not just our life times but our children as well. Will they have something they makes our technology today just look like a child’s toy, if the iPhone and Apple has thought us anything it is that anything is possible and technology can truly change world.

Two of Americas longest wars has been perusing almost our entire lives, and most of time we never even think about it.  I can personally I for a long time I didn’t even know we were at war when I was young, I feel like I didn’t really hear about it until middle school and just quickly excepted it as normal. War being normal is a very interesting concept somethings that most generations of Americans don’t share. In the past war was a time the whole country united to defeat a specific enemy the revolution, world wars, and Vietnam. In our modern-day war goes on with fairly little public attention, with America having a war of terror not this is not a country, or a defined people it’s an ideology. How do you fight an ideology, well to be able to sell this to the American people you have to give it a face, a name, and a location in order to reassure them of the mission. In today’s blog we will be looking at the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the longest military conflicts in our nation’s history that has sanded now three Presentences.

The war in Afghanistan 7 October 2001 and has continues on to this day for a grand total of 7 years, 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days. The main cause of this war was a retaliation of the U.S. against the 9/11 attacks which were planed and attacked out by the Taliban a terrorist organization led by Osama bin Laden. They had a safe base of operations in Afghanistan which was in control by the Taliban. The invasion was led by U.S. forces with initial supported from Canada, Australia, and the U.K., then later a coalition of over 40 countries which included all NATO nations. Officially the aim of the war was to eliminate al-Qaeda and deny them a base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban from power. The conflict went on for much longer than anyone had thought with the war being the second longest war in United States history right behind the Vietnam War.

Then the Iraq War lasted from 20 March 2003 – 18 December 2011, for a grand total of 8 years, 8 months and 28 days, with U.S. troops still being deplored there to this day. The invasion of Iraq by a United States leading another coalition of nation with the goal tooverthrew the government of Saddam Hussein. The war went on for much of the next decade, then as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and against the new Iraqi government backed by the U.S.An estimated 151,000 – 600,000 Iraqis were killed in the first four years of the conflict. The U.S. was pulled back into the conflict in 2014 at the head of a new coalition; the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion was planned in part of a declared war against international terrorism and the U.S. believed that Iraq may have weapons of mass destruction. This would be found to be false when the war ended with Saddam dead and country is still in a very turbulent time in its history trying to stabilize once again.

The total cost of the war on terror estimated by some could soon real over six trillion.