2024: It Could Have Been Worse
The year 2024 will be remembered for many horrible events, not least the ongoing devastating wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, natural disasters intensified by climate change, genuine threats to liberal democracy, more and more senseless gun violence and the ascendence of misinformation. But you don’t have to look too hard to find some good news, and I will set my cynicism aside for now and end the year by recounting a few of these uplifting events and try to convey some measure of hope that 2025 will be a better year.
So, in ascending order, here are some bright spots in what was overall a very demoralizing year.
10. The overthrew of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. With his formerly stalwart ally Russia bogged down in Ukraine, Assad was finally deposed by an alliance of rebels who captured the capital of Damascus and caused the brutal dictator to flee to Moscow to join his old pal Putin. While what comes next remains a big question mark, for now Syrians are dancing in the streets.
9. The San Marino Soccer Team. This tiniest of micro-states ended a 20 year, 140 match losing streak by topping its minnow rival Lichtenstein 1–0. It was icing on the cake when they also took the reverse fixture 3–1.
8. Gukesh Dommaraju Becomes World’s Youngest Chess Champion. At 18, the precocious Indian bested Garry Kasparov, the dissident Russian who became champion at the ripe old age of 22.
7. Caitlin Clark. I get why the Black girls say that she wouldn’t get this kind of attention if she weren’t a skinny white girl from the Heartland, but the girl can flat out Ball and possesses court vision not seen since the halycon days of Larry Bird.
6. Renewable Energy Is On The Rise. Despite the best efforts of climate change denialists and fossil fuel die-hards to stifle progress towards saving the Earth, the cost of solar and wind power continues to decrease and the much-maligned Inflation Reduction Act has provided effective financial incentives to produce cleaner sources of power. The economic benefits to red states will make it hard to reverse these trends. And even China is producing less and less carbon.
5. Gun Control Is Not Dead. Mainers love their guns, but after a devastating mass killing in Lewiston in 2023, the Legislature expanded background checks and imposed a 72 hour waiting period to purchase certain weapons. Governor Janet Mills signed it into law, but the gun lobby is suing and its fate may ultimately rest with a Second Amendment extremist Supreme Court.
4. Americans Speak. The election was not all gloom and doom, as, when given a chance, Americans spoke up for democracy by electing two Black women U.S. Senators, a Korean-American senator and the first openly trans-woman to Congress. Abortion rights are consistently upheld when referendums are held in even the reddest of states (Florida is another story). Though the Supreme Court has ruled that diversity cannot be decreed, it can still be achieved through the ballot box.
3. Girls Rule. While we cannot measure how much sexism and racism factored into the U.S. presidential election, once more a woman was denied the country’s highest office. But there is no doubt that misogyny remains not just a cultural phenomenon, but a way of life in this country. Meanwhile Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo was elected the first female, and Jewish, president of Mexico. The rise of women is not always progressive, however, as Giorgia Meloni in Italy and president-in-waiting Marine LePen of France prove that neo-Fascism is not just for the boys, but is a game that the whole family can play. In the entertainment world, Taylor Swift continues to reign supreme, to the tune of the cool $2 billion her Eras Tour raked in. While her music is not everyone’s taste, and we know far too much about her love life, she has shown her multitude of tweener and teenage girl fans what a smart, independent businesswoman can accomplish.
2. The Paris Olympics. No country needed an event like this more than France, a nation more politically fractured than even the U.S. In the face of predicted disaster, it gave the world 17 days of other-worldly athletic performances and aesthetic delights the likes of which only the Gauls can produce.
1.The Reopening of Notre-Dame. Paris achieved a one-two sweep when it reopened the Medieval national treasure that was nearly destroyed by fire in 2019. Beloved as much for secular as well as religious reasons, the reopening of the restored Cathedral gave the country and its besieged President Emmanuel Macron a desperately needed boost.
So it was not all bad. But by recounting these highlights from this year, I am not kidding myself that 2025 will not be another year of chaos and disorder. But let us take a moment to realize that the world is still capable of producing positive and even wondrous things. Here’s to more of them and I wish all of you Happy Holidays and a Joyous New Year.