2016 has been labeled by many as one of the worst years in recent history, in large part due to the many celebrity deaths that occurred. I've always been fascinated with how emotionally impacted people are by the deaths of strangers. I realize we all mourn differently and we all have different capacities for sadness in our lives. This year, I watched a lot of people feel a very genuine grief over the deaths of these celebrities and I recognized a unifying thread across the many departed and why they mattered so much to the people around me. Many of them had been pioneers, activists, and leaders. Those who broke social norms and carved a path for a more accepting and tolerant and open society. Those who fought for women's rights, black rights, LGBT rights -- and stood resilient in the face of adversity. Historical figures who truly left their mark on our culture, our laws, and our perspective. They had overcome so many barriers, and yet still succumbed to death, in some cases unexpectedly or deemed untimely. Their legacies will still live on through their work and they will remain timeless role models and inspirations. But that's just it, isn't it? The celebrities who died -- in a way, a part of them still remains with us. What about those who never had a chance to leave their mark? What about those whose voices are yet unheard? What about those who are still fighting and and being fought?
It most certainly was a difficult and trying year, but for so many reasons more cataclysmic than the celebrities who passed on. This year will go down in history as a turning point both in the United States and around the world as we have elected into the most powerful position a most incompetent and dangerous man. Can you imagine telling people someday that in 2016 many Americans didn't have access to clean water and politicians not only did nothing to fix the problems but they knowingly profited off what would result in deaths and illness for their constituents? In 2016, Black lives still didn't matter despite widespread attention to the injustices exposed over recent years. 2016 marked 15 years since 9/11 yet the hatred and fear of Muslims grew globally and in the United States a presidency was won on a platform that included threats against Muslims. 49 years since the Voting Rights Act and yet voter suppression based on race and gender was an openly admitted tactic of the Trump campaign. Forget domestic meddling with politics, 2016 was the year Russian hackers interfered with the elections -- and the con-man president-elect got away with it! 2016 was an awful year for the humanitarian crises around the world and at home. European governance unraveled, the global economy took a hit, global warming continued to worsen. In 2016 we saw more people lose their lives in mass shootings due to our stupidity and stubbornness about gun control. In 2016, we regressed in our social advancement through backwards state-level policymaking. In 2016, groups like ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Taliban are still waging war against communities of helpless people. Famine is still an epidemic around the world in 2016.
2016 will turn out to be a historical turning point -- but only time will tell if we are able to re-route to a positive direction. 2016 was the year during which many people opened their eyes to the pain and suffering around them. One in which people of privilege embraced those without and joined a fight that's been going on since long before their great awakening. One in which we felt solidarity in our embarrassment and shame in our fellow citizens, the media, and our government. Perhaps with all this, we will see 2016 as the year that stoked an uprising that leads to eradicating injustice, putting policies in place to protect equal rights for all, and a series of great historical achievements.