Back to the future?

As the Chicago Bears advance to the Super Bowl and the infamous "Super Bowl Shuffle" video makes the rounds via YouTube, it has made me wonder -- have we finally managed to turn the clock all the way back to the 1980s?\nLet's look at some of recent international events, shall we? There was the well-publicized story of the Russian spy killed by radiation poisoning in London -- which might not have been so reminiscent of the Cold War if it hadn't come after years of building authoritarian and anti-American behavior in Moscow (keep in mind that we still don't know if the Russian government actually did him in). More recently, Russia has expressed anger at U.S. plans to establish missile bases in Eastern Europe -- echoing the controversy over the United States' mid-80s deployment of Pershing II missiles in Western Europe. The modern case is different, of course, in that the new missiles are being deployed to counter an Iranian attack -- but that brings us to another corollary: Iran is back in the news again calling us "The Great Satan" seemingly every other day.Given that China reignited a classic "Star Wars" concern by blowing a satellite out of orbit Jan. 11; the rise of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia is generating talk of socialist populist movements spreading through Latin America; and that Western Europe might be back to being international terrorism's top destination once again (this time of a jihadist, rather than communist or nationalist, variety) -- it's hard to shake the feeling that we've heard this tune before. \nOr take the U.S. economy. Since 2001, the economy has been growing rather steadily, but just as from 1982 to 1990, this growth has been dogged by pessimism -- and over the same concerns: the gap between rich and poor, and international competition. The only changes being, on the first count, that we don't have a new term for "yuppies," and on the second, that fear of Japan has been replaced by fear of China and India. Of course, with a Republican president and a Democratic Congress, divided government could well deepen the similarity.\nAnd, finally, lets look at pop culture. Having been a kid in the '80s, it's striking for me that all the old toys are back -- G.I. Joe, Star Wars action figures, Transformers. Then you also have slasher movies making a dramatic return (not to mention Hollywood's countless remakes). And while hip-hop dominates instead of hair metal, much of the mainstream commercial stuff is just as mindless and decadent (fortunately, the return of synth-powered new wave appears to have died out in 2005). And don't think I haven't seen some of you ladies trying to resurrect the leggings, baggy off-the-shoulder shirt and hoop-earrings combo.\nWhat to make of these developments? Is this the work of some shadowy, widespread yuppie conspiracy? Is some higher power nostalgic? All I can say is this: Invest in shoulder pads.