1. Good problems
While the US faced atrocious acts of violence by the police against people of color, the country came together to declare that it was unacceptable and that long-term changes needed to be made to navigate the police. It was what the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) mentioned getting into “good trouble”. The kind of problems that make a difference and can help change the world.
In Minneapolis, after George Floyd’s death was broadcast around the world, investigations revealed systematic problems within the department. That led to the city government stepping in to discuss the redevelopment of the entire department and the way policing is done in the city. Floyd’s six-year-old daughter said, “Daddy changed the world.” Yes indeed.
Wide-ranging talks also began after an unarmed, naked man in Rochester, New York, was suffocated while having a clear mental health emergency. Police departments admitted that they are often called in to deal with such situations, for which they are clearly not trained.
As tensions grew between racist groups and Black Lives Matter, it became clear that the overwhelming number of Americans believe there is a problem that needs to be addressed in controlling communities of color.
Gianna Floyd, daughter of George Floyd, says “Daddy Changed The World”
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2. Masks, disinfectants and shield makers
In the early days of the pandemic, President Donald Trump refused to implement the defense production law to create more personal protective equipment for primary care health workers and first responders dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. Masks became scarce and doctors and nurses became ill.
Thousands of Americans stepped out to help. Stories flooded the news of families using their quarantine time to sew masks with added barriers to keep workers safe. It also helped unemployed people who could sell masks on sites like Etsy so that Americans could buy homemade masks instead of N95 masks that were badly needed in hospitals. Americans flocked to the GoFundMe pages to donate whatever money they could to help buy the necessary equipment until the government was willing to recognize it as a problem.
Face shields also got terrifying, but with 3D printers and enthusiastic students at Penn, a robot team in New Mexico, faculty from five universities, DC artists and engineers, DC students, a Missouri student and teacher, isolated Chicagoans, and dozens of companies stepped up to help.
Once it became clear that washing your hands and keeping things clean was an important step to stop the spread, distilleries across the country switched from making vodka, tequila, and whiskey to hand sanitizer.
Amid Trump’s failure and his administration’s response, it was Americans who came together in times of crisis to help each other. For every eligible person who went crazy about a supermarket mask mandate, there were hundreds of sewing masks at home to help.
The distillery switches to making hand sanitizer
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3. The election
While President Donald Trump wouldn’t say he was happy about it, the 2020 election got rid of the “Twitter president.” However, the best thing about the election, other than the results, was that they set records. For generations, election turnout was anemic, with only occasional bursts of energy. This year was not just any eruption, it was a tidal wave of participation, whether some want to believe it or not.
While the Georgia Senate run-off won’t happen until after the New Year, it has already proven that it is drawing even more voters than the November election. Analysts believe it is attributed to young people who were not of age to vote in November, but who are now and want to make their voices heard.
At the local level, a historic number of LGBTQ officials and women of color were also elected, making the US leaders look just a little more like the population.
But perhaps the most memorable, K-Pop fans made Donald Trump look like a fool.
Trump takes epic walk of shame after TikTok users and K-Pop fans troll his Tulsa rally
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4. US institutions held
It has been four tumultuous years under Donald Trump’s presidency, but in his latest attack on the US institutions, they all seem to be holding up.
Despite the nomination of a slew of judges across the country and to the U.S. Supreme Court, those appointees refused to circumvent the law to hand the election over to the president without proof. When Trump’s lawyers were unable to provide one, the cases were dismissed. The judiciary proved that when the executive falls into tyranny and the legislature into cowardice, it will defend US laws.
Supreme Court Rejects Election Case Backed by Trump | NBC Nightly News
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Kamala Harris
The California senator is weeks away from sworn in as the first female, first black, and first Asian-American vice president ever. Amid the bouts of Trump anger and threats to overthrow the election, the memory of Kamala can certainly put a smile on the face of American history.
We did it, @JoeBiden. https://t.co/oCgeylsjB4– Kamala Harris (@Kamala Harris)1604769807.0
6. You cannot be fired for being transgender
While the face of the Supreme Court has now changed forever, while the great Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg was alive, the Supreme Court ruled in a historic 6-3 decision that Americans cannot be fired for their gender identity.
7. DACA stands
Another major Supreme Court decision was President Donald Trump’s attempt to quash the delayed action for the arrival of children. The program made it safe for young people who were brought to the United States as children to get out of the shadows and work or go to school without fear of deportation.
8. Weeds
More and more states are legalizing marijuana. While that may lead more people to embrace the high life, more has started a bigger conversation about non-violent drug offenders, especially people of color, who are incarcerated with ridiculous punishments. There is still much work to be done, but inmates are enjoying the support of Americans behind them. Most now realize it is foolish to arrest because they have a bag of weed in a state that is now legally selling it, let alone send them to prison for ten years or more.
The Justice Department wants to release 6,000 nonviolent drug offenses from prison
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9. The earth had a good year
The positive thing about a home working revolution and a massive unemployment crisis was a decrease in CO2 emissions. While they were down a record seven percent this year, they will likely return to the United States in 2021. However, other countries have taken significant steps to achieve zero emissions by the middle of the century as part of the Paris Agreement. President-elect Joe Biden is likely to rejoin the deal, and if the Democrats win in Georgia, there’s a chance that a new era of clean energy is on the horizon, with jobs to go with it.
Global carbon emissions see a record decrease in 2020
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10. Animals
As a result of the pandemic, more Americans have adopted pets in the past year than ever before. There is actually a historical decline in furry friends in animal shelters. Twenty percent of respondents who responded to a Nielsen poll in July said they adopted one or more dogs or cats earlier this year, up from five percent last year.
Priceless moments when animals realize they are being adopted
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