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1998-THE YEAR THAT WAS "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times…" wrote Charles Dickens in his book A Tale of Two Cities. Indeed the year 1998 turned out to be one of contrast. The year when a nation was rocked by a presidential scandal, and when a hero returned to space. This was a year when countries fought each other, and when an eternal conflict ended. This year may well go down as one of the most scandalous in history. President Bill Clinton was accused of lying under oath about his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The topic was by far the most important news story of 1998. News of this scandal first leaked in January, and this story (now a saga) has been prolonged until December. The general public reaction to this story has been mixed. In polls conducted by almost all news stations, almost half of the people think the president should be impeached, while the other half argues against impeachment. In December, the president was impeached by the House of Representatives in a highly partisan vote. His fate now lies in the hands of the Senate. John Glenn returned to space this year as well. The entire nation watched as John Glenn, a 77 year-old astronaut, blasted off into space. Several people watched in awe as a man past the "conventional" retirement age flew into space. Many parents watched with teary eyes as a man they adored as children rocket into space. This was truly a legendary mission in the eyes of many because the first person that thrust America into the space race was going back to his domain. The geriatric research that he set off to accomplish was overshadowed by his incredible image. When I say this, I mean image in the sense of his courage and determination. At the age of 77 many people don’t even think of going to work, but this man went into space as fast as a bullet, proving why he is admired by so many. This year was also a year that resulted in several conflicts. The trouble in Kosovo, the Mideast Peace Summit, the air strike against Iraq all contributed to make this year one of the most "militarily active." The Yugoslavian attack on the province of Kosovo was by no doubt one of the most fragile situations handled this year. Serbian-led attack on this province caused several ethnic Albanians to flee their homes. The Albanians constituted 90% of the province’s population, and for this reason, the attack was no surprise to several experts. The land-for-security deal negotiated in the summit put an end to the fighting in the Middle East only for a short while. The process seems to have reached another hurdle. When Palestine announced that it planned to declare statehood sometime next year, the peace process stopped almost abruptly. It seems that a peaceful solution for this region is getting harder and harder to come by. Every time we come up with a resolution it seems to fall apart, yet it is everyone’s responsibility to try their best to keep this region from turning into a war zone. The U.S. also attacked Iraq not two weeks ago. The Iraqis refused to allow UN inspectors into their facilities the second time in a span of just a few months. India and Pakistan both tested nuclear weapons this year as well. This drew severe criticism from the United States. As a result of the tests, both countries had sanctions imposed upon them, worsening their already poor economic situations. This story rapidly developed into one of the biggest of the year. India tested its nuclear capabilities first, followed by Pakistan. The rivalry between these two countries undoubtedly fueled this nuclear arms race. Not all outlooks were gloomy this year though. The conflicts between the Protestants and Catholics going on for decades in Northern Ireland ended this year. The majority of the voters voted to end the conflicts that have been going on for the better part of this century. There are still some isolated incidents of violence, but the conflict is over. The conflicts that had been going on for decades have finally ended. The Asian economy collapsed this year. When Japan’s economy fell, all the other Asian countries followed suit, as they are heavily dependent on Japan for trading. This crash also resulted in an increase in the number of exports from Asian countries as they were cheap to purchase. This crash also resulted in a dip in the American stock market, but they have recovered nicely since then. 1998 was indeed a year of contrasts; peace and war, prosperity and depression were all synchronized to form the one beat of 1998. Date posted: December 27, 1998. What do you think about this? |