8. The data’s in, and it turns out the stuff that’s being done to help alleviate global poverty and health problems IS WORKING! So let’s double down!
7. We are closer and closer to the world being polio-free. In 2014, it was eradicated in India, and now there are only three countries left to quell it in.
6. Time magazine “let” us keep the word “feminism” (where’s the sarcasm font when you need it?). And 11-year-old girls everywhere are sitting in little feminist incubators listening to Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, who both fully embraced the best F-word ever this year. Because let’s be real: Feminism helps EVERYONE break free of the harmful rules of the patriarchy.
5. This was the year that science made a comeback in America in a big way. Neil DeGrasse Tyson unified everyone who wants to make decisions for our future and sustainability based on empirical evidence.
4. Speaking of sustainability, the United States and China reached a pretty important pact on how to not do ourselves in, Earthlings.
3. Some big retailers are getting the hint and hearing that shoppers aren’t interested in making employees work on Thanksgiving. We give thanks to those like Costco and Nordstrom that refuse to be part of the problem. We give thanks for the workers who get to be home with their families and friends, and wish for everyone to be able to.
2. 15% of people who didn’t qualify for state-sponsored health insurance now do, thanks to the 2014 rules for Medicaid expansion under Obamacare. And all health insurance plans this year were required to step it up to provide a better standard of coverage. That’s better health coverage and less uncertainty for everyone!
1. More dominoes keep falling in the victory for gay rights. State by state, same-sex marriage is becoming the law of the land. And if XKCD’s predictions are right, we may achieve it in all 50 states lickety-split (though yesterday wouldn’t be soon enough!).
