Opening the Time Capsule: 2010

As the second decade of the twenty-second century opens, we would like to take a look back at just what was going on in our world 100 years ago. Just as now, the opening of a new decade was an exciting event and brought hope about better years to come. 100 years ago the world was in the clutch of various conflicts, from political to religious in nature. Many hoped that the new decade might herald the coming of a greater age of humanitarianism. However, this hope was not to be achieved in the year 2010, much to the chagrin of the "Western World". At this time, remember, the "Western World" was in control of a majority of Earth's resources and held a great deal of political and military sway of the rest of the globe. China and India were still only beginning their ascension to the current level of power they hold. The result of this Western hegemony caused much anger and resentment in the Middle East and other regions. However, even this major political trend wasn't the defining factor of the year 2010. The European Union, after many years of regimented progress and expansion, made it self a world power of August 14th, 2010. Allowing each member state to maintain its self identity and a small national guard, the EU was transformed from a economic and political entity made of some 27 members to a single nation of 27 departments. This stunning transformation threw governments worldwide into heightened activity through the beginning of 2011. The issue that was to rule the public mind from the end of 2010 to the beginning of 2013 began to ramp up real attention in the closing months of 2010: the supposed future disaster of 2012.