The 20th century
While I was flipping through last week’s issue of Newsweek magazine, I noticed a short tribute David Gates, a reporter, wrote for Kurt Vonnegut, who passed away about two weeks ago. In it, Gates stated that Vonnegut “lived through three quarters of the worst century ever …”
Can the 20th century really be called the “worst century ever”? Let’s first count off some things that could one could consider “cons.” Two world wars. The Great Depression. Spanish Flu. Chernobyl. The implementation of much modern machinery that has taken a huge toll on the environment. Essentially, the list could go on and on, but those are the ones that came up in my mind first.
How about the “pros”? A relative improvement of social equality. Major medicinal advancements (antibiotics, vaccines, chemotherapy, etc.). Faster transportation. Better quality food and living conditions in general. Again, these are just some of the first few that came off the top of my head.
No, I’m not about to compare the past few points. Those were just to refresh our minds on some of the things that happened in the last 100 years.
So is the 20th century the worst century? Unfortunately, I would have to say I don’t really know. Although it often has a negative image filled with war and strife, there have been a lot of crucial advancements as well.
Who gives David Gates the authority in dubbing the past century so anyway? He didn’t live the whole century. In fact, there are hundreds of centuries he hasn’t lived. How can he compare it to something he doesn’t know about other than what he’s read and been taught? The 20th century, to me at least, seems somewhat more appealing than 1,000 or 2,000 years ago.
True, the 20th century had its difficulties. But guess what, so has every other century. This century hasn’t been off on the best start either. Just last week was the worst massacre of its type to date.
The 21st century hasn’t been too great for me. I don’t have much choice than to deal with it and wait for it to get better. As long as I’m around, I’ll be sure to try and make it the best century ever.
— Benjamin Fu