talkpolitics | Ah, progress:

In the 1980s there was a superpower war in Afghanistan waged with means that involved a great amount of firepower and lopsided death tolls against an insurgency motivated by extremist Islam that desired to turn the clock back to the way things were. There was a state within a state in Lebanon firing missiles at Israel, a Palestinian uprising aiming at getting the Israelis to respect their proclaimed promises to granting a Palestinian state. There were caudillos in South America aiming at progressive goals in theory, using dictatorial methods in reality. The PRI was in charge in Mexico. The United States backed some dictators and watched others go down the toilet, being involved in proxy wars in the Horn of Africa. The People's Republic of China was led by a superficially reformist clique interested in reforms until they had to mean something and facing internal upheaval. Europe was forming new unified economic blocs and trying to buck both the United States and Russia with varying degrees of success.

In the 2010s there is a superpower war in Afghanistan waged with means that involve a great deal of firepower and lopsided death tolls against an insurgency motivated by extremist Islam that desires to turn the clock back to the way things once were. There is a state within a state in Lebanon firing missiles at Israel and Palestinians aiming at getting the Israelis to respect their proclaimed promises in granting a Palestinian state. There are caudillos in South America aiming at progressive goals in theory, with dictatorial methods in reality. The PRI is in charge in Mexico. The USA has backed some dictators and watched others go down the toilet, and is involved in proxy wars in the Horn of Africa. Europe has formed a new unified bloc and is trying to buck the United States and Russia with varying degrees of success. The PRC is now the world's economic workshop and makes most US flags that are sold in the United States.

Progress, ain't it grand?