What were the best years in History?

[Bootes Void]

this is in response to 2020 being the worst year. I would say

1776(declaration), 1820ish(the era of good feelings), 1918(end of ww1), 1928(economic prosperity), 1945(end of ww2), 1964-1965(civil rights success), 1984(reagan"morning in america",economic growth), 1991(end of cold war, gulf war),2000(strong economy, budget surplus, peace and prosperity, optimism) or 2015( lots of social changes such as gay marriage, confederate flags shunned, arguable the "peak" of the obama years, finally a okay economy)

What do you guys think?

[Sumner 1868]

1865 is definitely the most bittersweet year in American history.

[riceowl]

I mean I'm not sure 1918 should be considered given the pandemic..

[EastOfEden]

2015 was definitely the best during my lifetime. It really did seem like the world was for once all going in the right direction. Then 2016 hit and it all came crashing down.

[dead0man]

2015 or 16

[Suburbia]

1984, 1988, 1997-2000, 2006, 2015, 2018 was not bad either

[Blue3]

Since this seems focused on the US, I'd say the 1990's.

Taking into account if people we enslaved, had civil rights, had voting rights, not in a war or pandemic, not in a cold war where it felt the world might explode into nuclear war, etc.

[Bootes Void]

1984, 1988, 1997-2000, 2006, 2015, 2018 was not bad either

any year from 2001 to 2008 was just awful

[Beet]

2013
1996
1972
1928
1913
1872

[Badger]

The Clinton era was pretty awesome. Massive economic growth. A reduction in Social inequity. The end of the Cold War and the worry of nuclear annihilation. Most Millennials and gen-xers don't comprehend hiking hiking fortunately for them. All we needed was for the Supreme Court decisions affirming the right to gay marriage and applicability of the Civil Rights Act 2 gays to arrive about 20 years earlier and it would have been a bona fide Golden Age.

Well, Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh our definite sh**tstains at the time, but still worth it.

Yours Truly may be biased because the 90s were in many ways an...."exhilarating" time.

[freepcrusher]

77/78 school year. Look at all the songs that were hits then that could be in any 70s movie:

"I Go Crazy"
"Just Remember I Love You"
"Ebony Eyes"
"Count on Me"
"We Just Disagree"
"Sentimental Lady"
"Thunder Island"
"Sweet Talkin' Woman"
"Dust in the Wind"

All the anxiety about civil rights, vietnam were over and people were free to just chill out.

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

The 1960s, if our generation, Generation X was in charge, the assassinations wouldn't have taken place, we would have been more careful about where would be going. Where John, Robert and King were negligent in their whereabouts. No kitchen for RFK, no strange hotel for King and a rooftop for JFK limo

[BlueSwan]

Not just in America, but for most of the western world, the late 90's was probably the best years in history. Economic boom. No real threat to the western world order. Lots of optimism. Before social media ruined the world. Biggest story was the president getting a blowjob from his intern and worrying about whether PC's could handle going from 1999 to 2000 without crashing. It was a happy period in general. The year 2000 was good as well if we overlook the stock crash, but from 2001 and on it has been pretty horrible. Those mentioning 2015 are forgetting the Syrian war and the massive refugee crisis, although I realize this didn't affect America as much as Europe and the Middle East.

[Former President tack50]

In my lifetime, probably the late 2000s, this being the period rougly between 2005-2007. And this period actually pales in comparison to the late 90s, which are arguably the best time to be alive in any western country.

If I had to pick a single year of my lifetime, I'd go with 2006. The economy was at its peak (like our at the time PM said, "We are in the Champions League of the world economy"), a peak which came crashing down in 2008 and has never recovered.

Other than the mid 00s, it is hard to choose another time in my lifetime. The closest one can get might be like 2018-2019? Before the COVID pandemic but well after the Great Recession.

[25 Abril/Aprile Sempre!]

The best year in History might well have been 1999 - at least in the Western world.

The best year of my life was pretty much 2019 but that has nothing to do with "macro" events.

[หมูเด้ง]

In my life? 1999.

[dw93]

For me personally: 2004, 2007 (at least on the surface), or 2014

In American History: 1776, 1865, 1945, 1989, 1997

[SWE]

Top 4 in no particular order:

69 BC, 69 AD, 420 BC, 420 AD

Nothing else sticks out to me

[PSOL]

In the 20th-21st century:

1917
1923
1945
1968
1975
1998–2000


Something tells me that the 2030’s will be lit.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Depends on the criteria, for instance several of the years mentioned just from an objective standpoint like say 1917 in the previous post, would have been horrendous just from the sheer death toll alone.


I would say 1995-1999.

For my personal standpoint 2007 and 2012 were probably the best and I haven't really exceeded 2012, though without covid 2020 probably could have exceeded 2012, which would have been nice

[darklordoftech]

1997-2000

[Crumpets]

The late 90s probably "felt" best in terms of the global trajectory looking like it was in a great direction of peace and technological advancement. There are a lot of metrics you can point to that show pretty much every year is better than the last in terms of poverty, education, and health care, though.

[Big Abraham]

Top 4 in no particular order:

69 BC, 69 AD, 420 BC, 420 AD

Nothing else sticks out to me

Oh, I get it. Lucullus' troops capture the capital of Armenia, Vespasian becomes emperor of Rome, Alcibiades becomes military governor, and the year of the consulship of Theodosius and Constantius.

I agree, those were all pretty great years.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

Not just in America, but for most of the western world, the late 90's was probably the best years in history. Economic boom. No real threat to the western world order. Lots of optimism. Before social media ruined the world. Biggest story was the president getting a blowjob from his intern and worrying about whether PC's could handle going from 1999 to 2000 without crashing. It was a happy period in general. The year 2000 was good as well if we overlook the stock crash, but from 2001 and on it has been pretty horrible. Those mentioning 2015 are forgetting the Syrian war and the massive refugee crisis, although I realize this didn't affect America as much as Europe and the Middle East.

I get this take but by every empirical metric the 2010s are better.

For one, you have about a billion new members of the global middle class across the developing world--a development which outweighs a poorer state of politics in the West. Somehow, I don't think Facebook and the 2016 election are greater social ills than widespread poverty in East Asia. And I'd remind you that right now is basically the least violent moment in human history.

[OSR stands with Israel]

For the US , either 1991 or 2000