Favorite decade

[Sidewinder]

As stated, what was the favorite decade you lived through or (for historians who were born after a certain decade) wished you could live through? Feel free to give or make up any reason you wish.

[Mr Bean]

The 90s were amazing, and after the 00's I look back at them with fondness. I'm not a fan of the 80s either thank you Regan even if we did get a good first year.

I mean seriously 1991-2000 was formal final end of the Soviets, a bunch of peace movements. Vietnam started talking with us again, we stopped picking fights with China for awhile and the EU was getting off the ground and we were full of bright promise for the next century.

[Jub]

I have to choose 2001-2010 for the simple reason that I'm not that old and high school and the years following it were full of great times for me.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

I'm not entirely sure I understand the criteria, so I choose the 70s. Because guitars.

[General Mung Beans]

'50s, followed by '90s largely because I like the fifties "atompunk" aesthetic.

[DarkArk]

As a historian I wish I could have lived from 1900-1910. Seeing the world before it was torn apart by two world wars would be interesting to say the least.

As for the decades I've lived through, you really can't beat 91-00.

[Thanas]

Of the choices presented, the nineties for the reasons stated by Bean.

[Dartzap]

90's for me. I also think its all rather country dependant. I know the 70's/80's weren't exactly a brilliant time be here.

[GuppyShark]

Aka how old are you thread

[Sidewinder]

I voted for the 80s, though that may be due to childhood nostalgia.

I mean seriously 1991-2000 was formal final end of the Soviets, a bunch of peace movements.

It was also the time of terrorism. In the US, we had domestic terrorists like Tim McVeigh. In Japan, the Aum Shinrikyo. In the Middle East, Hamas started intifadas with the specific goal of destroying any chance of the Oslo Accords working, while the Real IRA attempted to do the same to the Good Friday Agreement. In Africa, al-Qaida bombed two US Embassies.

Meanwhile, Somalia fell further into civil war and anarchy; Russia fought a war in Chechnya, while Georgia fought separatists in South Ossetia; and the Balkans bore witness to "ethnic cleansing," which later required NATO intervention to stop. The 90s were no more peaceful than the 80s.

Vietnam started talking with us again, we stopped picking fights with China for awhile

China was a US ally at that point, specifically, against the Soviet Union. In fact, their were Sino-American programs to improve the PLA, such as the Super-7.

and we were full of bright promise for the next century.

Only for those willing to turn a blind eye to the incidents mentioned above.

[Thanas]

You are going "Your resons are invalid, bow to my opinion" in a thread specifically asking for individual perceptions and opinions? A thread started by you to boot?

Seriously?

[aerius]

I'm not entirely sure I understand the criteria, so I choose the 70s. Because guitars.

Yeah, pretty much. I get to see countless legendary musicians and bands in their prime playing awesome live shows. The 80s are pretty good too, but the 70s are better.

[Starglider]

The 90s was the decade of hope. It started with the the emancipation of Eastern Europe, the literal fall of the evil empire (the USSR), a burst of progress on nuclear disarmament and the liberalisation of economies around the world. The explosive growth of IT and the dawn of the web was tremendously exciting and vibrant, and the possibilities of biotechnology and nanotechnology were coming into focus. Steady progress was made on expanding human rights, all the eco-catastrophe/peak-oil stuff was still distant, socialism was weakened and government oppression seemed to be on a downtrend. For most countries the decade started on a low but kept getting better economically, with the boom at the end. For a few years there it really did seem like everything was going to be ok. So while the 60s had great engineering feats, the 70s is historically interesting and I prefer the 80s for pop culture, the 90s was the most pleasant to live in. Although if you mean my personal experience I would say 2000 to 2010 just because being a teenager sucks.

[Jerry the Vampire]

1720's because I'm a luddite

[Col. Crackpot]

While i thoroughly enjoyed being in my teens and early twenties during the 1990's, i choose the 70's because of:

A- Music: Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers etc.
B- Style: burgundy three piece suits and paisley... Pimptastic.
C- The afterglow of the sexual revolution
D- The 1970 Dodge Challenger

[Gandalf]

If I get to bring stuff with me, I bring some recording equipment and head to the 1950s in order to record the early history of television, thus preserving it.

If not, I visit the 1990s in order to better study the period in TV history. Then I write a book or something.

[Luke Skywalker]

You old fools.

[Iron Bridge]

World historically, 1990s were by far the best. Last set of dictatorial countries had fallen apart, and the next had yet to reform their economies enough to be dangerous.

To live in, definitely this one, and the next will be even better.

[Korvan]

Has to the the seventies. I was born in '71 and the first decade of my life was fan-fucking-tastic. Kids played outdoors with minimal supervision and outside of church, we were almost never molested. No wussy car seats or bike helmets to bother with. Those of us that survived had a great time. The only downside is that my parents had absolutely the worst taste in music. It was the goddamn '70's and I was stuck listening to Neil Diamond and Roger Whittaker.

[Skylon]

The 90's - although I am tempted to call "insufficient data" here having survived really only three decades. The 80's were viewed entirely through the prism of being a child - so yeah, Transformers and G.I. Joe were the shit, and my friends and I played outside damnit, running around freely with plastic guns. Can't say much past that.

The 90's more in retrospect because in spite of loathing being a teenager, the booming rise of the internet and the economic prosperity, and of course in retrospect realizing that Americans weren't worried about all that much (compared to post-9/11), all with 90% less people buried in their cell-phones. Although I will note the 90's seemed to be where political correctness started to take a turn for the absurd, and the 24-hour news cycle's insanity began. I've enjoyed the 2000's as probably the best time I've had being alive, but well, the future isn't quite what was hoped for economically.

I'd generally defer to people who have lived longer on this though.

[mingo]

Oh Goddess I'm an OLD fucker! the 60s, when people fought the power

[Ziggy Stardust]

I'm going with the 80s just because nobody else picked 'em.

[General Mung Beans]

I'm going with the 80s just because nobody else picked 'em.

You could have picked the '50s then. I'm all alone there.

[tim31]

90s, only because I lived through them and my life steadily declined from 2003 onward.

Here we are now, entertain us.

[Alerik the Fortunate]

For me personally, the 2000's by far, especially from the middle of the decade on. The 80's and 90's, comfortable as they were, were filled with guilt, suicidal depression, and religiously imposed ignorance and isolation. Adulthood, on the other hand, has been filled with freedom, self acceptance, knowledge, and really good sex.

Edit: the whole economic crash has been very unfortunate, though it did provide me with some opportunities I might not have had otherwise, though with a bigger price tag than I would have liked.