After 8 years the Obama Administration was coming to an end and it was time for the country to elect a new President. It seemed both sides had a lot of energy, especially the Republican side that had been waiting to take back the white house. Much to the surprise of many citizens and politicians a business man turn celebrity who had thrown around the idea of running was officially through his hat in the ring. A Mr. Donald J. Trump the New York billionaire known for this real-estate empire and this TV show competition The Apprentice.

Right off the bat the day Trump announced he was running for President it was a fire storm the media could not stop talking about him and either for the American people. Like or dislike him he breathes attention and gets people talking, with comments and sound bights to change headlines in minutes. Many in the political elite and establishment took Trump as a joke and many on both left and right on the isle said he had no chance from the beginning. As the first polls start to come in people were shocked with Trump the front runner, with 16 other candidate many established and lift long politicians. His rhetoric to many seemed mean and like a bully but that how a lot of voters felt they were angry with the establishment and how things were going to they left like Trump represented them and their voice. Winning the Republican Nomination and the stage was set for the real battle for the Presidency against the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The election as we all know was one of the nastiest and divisive elections in recent history with both sides getting low in attacks on the other. Against all odds and the opinions of almost all the political establishment Trump would go on to win the Presidency. With taking office and now being 2 years in tensions are still high on both sides, with the country seeming more polarized than ever. There have been some very good accomplishments with tax cuts, the lowest unemployment in 50 years, booming economy, increases in the military, record number of feral court appointments, and much more. Where so much of the division and tension comes from is the man Donald Trump himself, the Democrats support a fair bit of his platform and since he is the President they don’t agree with pretty much anything he supports. Both parties have the opportunity to put politics aside, come together, help bring the nation and together and push it forward with progress.

I know this is a lot to a ask but I think the majority of the country feel the same that agreeing and bipartisanship is the what America need right now. Trump has said it himself so many times he is a businessman he negotiated he is willing to talk and give if the Democrats just come to the table. The opportunity to makes deals on improving infrastructure, paid family leave, immigration and so much more. We have seen a glimpse what can come from bipartisanship with criminal justice reform with the First Step. This legislation passed congress with flying colors and signed by the President is making our justice system fairer for nonviolent drug offenders and bringing in more rehabilitation programs to help people rejoin society. This is a great piece of legislation and is a great example of what is possible when people come together, hopefully the path the politicians will head toward in the coming years. With two years left until the next election there is still much time for more progress to be made, and in time see how this Presidency performs going forward into 2020.

The Great Recession which last from 2007-2009 was a huge turning point for many as the world was only around 7 years into the new century. This was the worst finical crisis America had seen since the Great Depression in the 1930s, it was not as large and powerful but still had some very heavy effects on the country and the internationally. This huge economic downturn came out of nowhere for most Americans. With Real GDP falling $628 Billion (-4%) and unemployment inflating from 4.5% to 10%. This recession devastated not just the U.S. economy especially the banking and real estate industries but aa good bit of international financial markets as well. The financial crisis led to so many hardships for Americans, with increases in home mortgage foreclosures around the world and caused millions of people to their homes, jobs, and their life savings. The effects of the crisis were definitely felt internationally but the recession was most hard felt in the United States. This is also where it born most of which was a result of the subprime mortgage crisis.

For those of you who aren’t very familiar with economics a recession is defined as a decline or halt in economic growth. As seen in the History.com article “Since the Great Recession, the International Monetary Fund has described a “global recession” as a decline in real per-capita world gross domestic product (GDP), as supported by other macroeconomic indicators such as industrial production, trade, oil consumption and unemployment, for a period of at least two consecutive quarters”. The subprime mortgage crisis was in a nutshell a mess of lack of regulations, corporations getting greedy, and people making many small bad decisions that really added up. A subprime mortgage is a home loan that is granted to a person with poor credit history and are considered high risk. In the early and mid 2000s there was a housing boom in the U.S. and mortgage lenders wanted to profit from the rising prices on homes and became a lot less restrictive on the types of borrowers they would approve. Housing prices continued to rise and then many financial institutions saw an opportunity and acquired thousands of these risky mortgages in bulk. This is known on a bond or is also typically in the form of mortgage-backed securities which is an investment, the hope for the institutions was a make a profit from them. These small bad decisions would become catastrophic on a scale no one imagined. The securities filled with subprime loans eventually failed with many financial institutions losing billions and going out of business. As time went on housing prices across the country began to fall with in large part was due to so many new homes on the market, so millions of homeowners—and their mortgage lenders were in trouble with their homes now valued less than their total loan amounts.

A crisis like this had not been seen in decades and it took the full force of the Federal Government to put the pieces back together. In response Congress increased expenditures, cut taxes, and changed to budget to help along with a Stimulus package bill which provided taxpayers with rebates ($600 to $1,200), which they were encouraged to spend, and increased the loan limits for federal home loan programs. This was in hopes to drive up homes fails and get the economy back on track. The Fed also decreased interest rates to help encourage barrowing and investments. There is a lot more to know and learn from the Great Recession highly recommend looking into it more and highly recommend watching the film “The Big Short” it is a fantastic and funny movie that teaches the audience watch happened to cause the recession and those who saw it coming.

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rIubAgjoFg

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJfX_z2GuTo

Just over a year into the new century, and only a couple months into the Bush Presidency on September 11, 2001 America was shaken to the core and has change our nation and the world forever. On this day America saw the deadliest attack on the homeland, 19 terrorist who were associated with al-Qaeda the Islamic extremist group planned by their leader Osama bin Laden, they hijacked four airplanes with these they carried out suicide attacks against multiple targets in the U.S. Two of the planes were flown into the World Trade Center twin tower in New York City, another crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, and the fourth plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C. In the combined attacks on 9/11 almost 3,000 people were killed, this event shook, and tariffed the nation but was at the same time united as a people to stand up from this tragedy. After U.S. took major moves to fight terrorism and this would define the presidency of George W. Bush.

The attack started at 8:45 a.m. on what many survivors described as a clear beautiful September day. This is when the first Boeing 767 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center, there was a huge explosion with over 20,000 gallons of fuel on the plane and left a gaping and burning hole around the 80^thfloor. This alone killed hundreds ad trapped 100s more on the floors above. Evacuations for both towers began and 18 minutes after the first plane hit the second plane hit the south tower around the 60^thfloor. When broadcasting for the first plane hitting the north tower many thought it was a freak accident but with the explosion of second plane it was clear with the smoke and ash descending on the city that America was under attack. As Americas attention was drawn to the attack in New York, at 9:45 a.m. another plane flight 77 was going around D.C. before it crashed into the Pentagon, the headquarters of Americas military. The fuel from the plane caused an inferno and caused a collapse of a portion of the ginormous office building. In total 125 people were killed in the Pentagon attack, 64 of which were on the plane. Then a fourth plane which was bound for California was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark Airport. The passengers on board learned about the attacks happening from cell phones and the airphone. The passengers knew the plane was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed. The passengers using hot water and whatever they could find and charged the cockpit. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour. It then crashing in a rural field near Shanksville in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m. In the end all 44 people aboard were killed, it is not known where the hijacker’s destination was some believe it might have been head to the White House, the Capitol building, or a nuclear power plant.All in all, 2.996 people were killed during the 9/11 attacks, including the 19 hijackers.At 9 p.m., he delivered a televised address from the Oval Office, declaring, “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.” George Bush declared America’s war on terror which have led to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Americas longest running conflicts which today have expanded into Syria. The events of 9/11 will always be remembers in the hearts of Americans, the strive to never forget and the determination of never again.

After the ball dropped America was already on its way with the upcoming Presidential election, no body knew how life changing this election truly was and what was coming for America and her people. The 2000 Presidential Election was between Al Gore at the time the current Vice President under the outgoing Bill Clinton and the Governor of Texas George W. Bush son the former President George H.W. Bush. This election was truly special in American history because it is considered one of the closet elections in U.S. history and the fourth of five presidential elections in which the winning candidate lost the popular vote. Al Gore got the nomination of his party fairly easily with only one challenger former Senator Bill Bradley. While Bush was seen as a favorite at the beginning of the Republican primary but had a larger field of challengers and had a contentious battle for the nomination with Senator John McCain but Bush would prevail. Gore chose fellow Democrat Senator Joe Lieberman has his VP running mate and Bush chose Dick Cheney former Defense Secretary as his pick. During the election both Bush and Gore focused mainly on domestic issues including tax relief, the budget, social insurance programs and others. Gore mainly criticized Bush for his lack of experience, and Republicans mainly attacked Gore for being Clinton’s VP with much resentment for Clinton. This is due to the Clinton sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky and others which brought about his subsequent impeachment, Gore avoided campaigning with the President for the most part during the election. For the most part during the election all the polls had it very close but nobody knew just how close it was going to be.

Election day November 7, 2000 over 100 million Americans headed to their polling stations to elect the next president of the United States unaware of the circus that was about to occur. At the end of the night it was unclear who won the election, with the state of Florida electoral votes undecided on a winner. This recount started a month-long series of legal battles, which went all the way to the Supreme court and made their contentious ruling of 5–4 of Bush v. Gore, ruling in Bush’s favor this then ended the recount. With it ended Bush won Florida by a margin of 537 votes or 0.009%. Bush won 271 electoral votes which is just above the magic number of 270 to win the presidency this despite Gore having 543,895 more votes which was 0.51% of all votes casted. It is truly amazing how close this election was and how much it truly did change American history the number of what ifs that come with the 2000 election are endless but we can’t change history only learn from it. This scenario of the loser of the popular vote but winning the elector college and the Presidency has only happened five times in American history and wouldn’t happen again until 2016 with the election of Donald Trump. Like the famous Mark Twain quotes goes “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes”.

I was born on March 9, 2000 being born after the turn of the century I was never exposed to the 90’s and beyond. A world before the war on Terror and so many other things. It is truly crazy to think how much the world has changed just in my life time in almost 19 years the world and America in particular has had many highs and our fair share of lows. There was a lot of excitement and some fear about entering the new century, many people wondered what this new time would bring. Some feared disaster with the Y2K bug on many people’s minds, that computer and machines would just shut down and the world would come to a stop. Others dreamed of a future of flying cars and much more shown in movies and on TV of the days to come. I don’t think anyone saw the new world that was coming around the corner one of fear, hope, and an excelsior spirit. That’s what this new passion blog will focus on the new world of the 21th century that has been my entire lifetime and the major events that have changed and defined the century thus far. This will range from attacks the shock the nation to its core and the triumphs of hope and change with an ever more excepting America and world.

Being born in the year 2000 I have never known a time without the internet and the modern technological advances which have truly changed and defined not just me but my entire generation. Another thing that has truly defined our generation that facts that we have never know peace, America has been in a constant state of war since we were born. This is very crazy to think about because I can’t speak for everyone but me personally I didn’t really know about or comprehend we were at war till I was probably around 10 or 12. I still to this day am still learning about everything that happened our successes and mistakes that we made so many what ifs that can never be answered. For the longest time when I was little all I really knew about the world outside of my life in West Chester, was that the President was Bush then Obama and that I was lucky to be an American which I distinctly remember the parents telling me often when I was young. So I hope the blog will not just inform but help you reflect on your life and how many huge events and changes have occurred and just to think told the future as the stating goes “Excelsior” ever upward.