1. Good problems
Although the United States experienced horrific acts of violence by police against people of color, the country met to declare it unacceptable and that long-term changes would have to be made to navigate the police. It was what the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) called having “good trouble.” The kind of problems that make a difference and that can help change the world.
In Minneapolis, after George Floyd’s death was transmitted to the world, investigations revealed systematic problems within the department. This prompted the city council to intervene to discuss the redevelopment of the entire department and the way the police are conducted in the city. Floyd’s six-year-old daughter said “the father changed the world.” In fact, he did.
Extensive conversations also began after a naked, unarmed man in Rochester, New York, drowned while having a clear mental health emergency. Police departments confessed that they are often called upon to handle these situations, for which they are clearly not trained.
While tensions rose between racist groups and Black Lives Matter, it became clear that the overwhelming number of Americans believes there is an issue that needs to be addressed in color police communities.
Gianna Floyd, daughter of George Floyd, says “Daddy Changed The World”
www.youtube.com
2. Mask manufacturers, disinfectants and shield makers
In the early days of the pandemic, President Donald Trump refused to enforce the Defense Production Act to create more personal protective equipment for front-line health workers and first aiders facing the COVID- crisis. 19. Masks became scarce and doctors and nurses began to get sick.
Thousands of Americans stepped up to help. The stories flooded the news about families using quarantine time to sew masks with additional barriers to protect workers. It also helped the unemployed who could sell masks to places like Etsy so Americans could buy homemade masks instead of buying N95 masks they desperately needed in hospitals. Americans went to the pages of GoFundMe to donate as much money as they could to help buy the equipment they needed until the government was willing to acknowledge that it was a problem.
Face shields also became scary, but with 3D printers and enthusiastic Penn students, a robotics team in New Mexico, professors at five universities, DC artists and engineers, DC students, a Missouri student and professor, isolated Chicagoans and dozens of companies rose to help.
Once it became clear that washing your hands and keeping things disinfected was an important step in stopping the spread, distilleries across the country went from making vodka, tequila and whiskey to making hand sanitizer.
Amid Trump’s failures and his government’s response, it was the Americans who came together in a time of crisis to help each other. For all the people who were entitled to assault a mask warrant at a grocery store, there were hundreds at home sewing masks to help.
The distillery goes on to make hand sanitizer
www.youtube.com
3. The choice
While President Donald Trump wouldn’t say he was happy with it, the 2020 election got rid of the “Twitter president”. The best thing about the election that wasn’t the result, though, was that it set records. For generations, turnout has been anemic, with only occasional bursts of energy. This year was not a simple outburst, it was a wave of participation, whether some want to believe it or not.
While Georgia’s Senate bid will not be held until after the new year, it has already proven to attract more voters than the November election. Analysts believe it is attributed to young people who were not old enough to vote in November, but who now do and want to make their voices heard.
Locally, a historic number of LGBTQ officials and women of color were also elected, which made U.S. leaders look a little more like the population.
Perhaps most memorably, though, K-Pop fans made Donald Trump look like a fool.
Trump takes an epic walk of shame after TikTok users and K-Pop fans troll his Tulsa rally
www.youtube.com
4. Celebrated American institutions
It’s been a tumultuous four years under Donald Trump’s presidency, but in his latest attack on American institutions, it seems like everyone keeps up.
Despite appointing a number of judges across the country and to the U.S. Supreme Court, these appointees refused to set aside the law to hand over the presidential election without evidence. When Trump’s lawyers were unable to provide any, the cases were dismissed. The judiciary proved that when the executive branch falls to tyranny and the legislature to cowardice, it will defend American laws.
Supreme Court rejects Trump-backed election lawsuit | NBC nightly news
www.youtube.com
5. Kamala Harris
The California senator is just weeks away from being sworn in as the first female, first black, first Asian-American vice president in history. Amid Trump’s outbursts of rage and threats to overthrow the election, remembering Kamala can certainly bring a smile to the face of American history.
We did it, @JoeBiden. https://t.co/oCgeylsjB4– Kamala Harris (@Kamala Harris)1604769807.0
6. He cannot be fired for being transgender
Although the face of the Supreme Court has changed forever, while Grand Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg was still alive, the Supreme Court ruled in a historic 6-3 decision that Americans cannot be fired by the their gender identity.
7. DACA is located
Another important Supreme Court decision was President Donald Trump’s attempt to destroy deferred action for child arrivals. The program caused young people who were brought to the United States as children to come out of the shadows and work or go to school without fear of being deported.
8. Weeds
More and more states are legalizing marijuana. While this may lead to more people embracing the high life, more has begun a broader conversation about nonviolent drug offenders, especially people of color, imprisoned with ridiculous sentences. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the prisoners enjoy the support of the Americans behind them. Now most realize it’s foolish to arrest him for having a pot bag in a state that now sells it legally, let alone send them to jail for ten years or more.
The Justice Department aims to release 6,000 non-violent drug offenders to prison
www.youtube.com
9. The Earth had a good year
The positive of a work-from-home revolution and a massive unemployment crisis was falling carbon emissions. Although they fell a seven percent record this year, in 2021 they will likely rise again in the United States. However, other countries have taken significant steps as part of the Paris Agreement to reach zero emissions by the middle of the century. President-elect Joe Biden is likely to rejoin the deal, and if Democrats win in Georgia, there is a chance there will be a new era of clean energy on the horizon, with jobs that are accompanied.
Global carbon emissions are on record in 2020
www.youtube.com
10. Animals
Because of the pandemic, more Americans have adopted pets over the past year than at any time in history. In fact, there is a historic reduction in furry friends at animal shelters. Twenty percent of those who responded to a Nielsen survey in July said they adopted one or more dogs or cats earlier this year, up from five percent last year.
Invaluable times when animals realize they are being adopted
www.youtube.com
Show less