In the current essay I would like to consider the main three events from 1990-ies, when I was born, as well as from 1970-ies, the decade my mother was born. Also, for the year of my mother birth (1973) I have chosen the most important event, which defined the decade, as well as the most important of 1990-ies that happened in 1994 (year of my birth).
1973 ”“ The main event of the decade was in the fact that in 1973 the United States stopped all military operations against North Vietnam. Without any doubts this major event had enormous impact on the civil society in our country and its culture. As a fact, Vietnam War – is one of the most considerable military conflicts of the second half of XX century, which left imprint on the culture and occupies an important place in modern U.S. history, as stated in The 20th Century – 2nd Half: 1950 ”“ 2000.
1972 – In Moscow between the USSR and the U.S. signed the anti-ballistic Missile Treaty on the limitation of anti-ballistic missiles, which is used in nuclear weapons. I am convinced that this step contributed to reducing tensions between the two superpowers ”“ the U.S. and USSR and marked the beginning of the nuclear weapon disarmament process.
1978 – Camp David negotiations and peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, with the help of the intermediary – the United States. This event initiated the peace process between the Egypt and Israel, which was the significant step forward in the Middle East problem solving, as described in Reflections of the 20th Century. Food For Thought.
1994 ”“ The main event of the decade was in the fact that Apple Computer Inc. released the first Macintosh computer, which used the principal new PowerPC Microprocessors. Without any doubts this was a considerable step forward in personal computer industry, which determined the further development of the industry and made it possible to significantly increase the performance of computer processors and reduce it energy consumption, as stated in The 20th Century: One Defining Moment?
1991 – Soviet Union collapse, which mentioned the U.S. victory in the Cold War. This event is hard to overestimate, because it had enormous impact on the geopolitical situation all over the world. Moreover, as a result of this event the U.S. remained the only superpower in the world.
1991 – U.S. troops and their allies launched “Desert storm” military operation against Iraq. It can be said that with this operation our country began to fight with dictators and terrorism in the Middle East region, as described in Reflections of the 20th Century. Food For Thought.
In my opinion the decades have following similarities. First of all, it can be said that in 1970-ies and then in 1990-ies the U.S. played major role in world geopolitics and was the country that stands on democracy principles. The second similarity is following trend in nuclear weapons reduction, which began in 1970-ies and continued in 1990-ies. However, these two decades differ significantly. First of all it can be seen a tendency to stop the war conflicts in 1970-ies. In turn, during 1990-ies the U.S. was involved into several local conflicts (Desert Storm, Yugoslavia). The second difference in my opinion lies in the fact that in 1970-ies the major events were connected with international politics, while in 1990-ies was significant leap forward in technological sphere (PC, mobile phones, DVD recorders etc.).