The year 2016 has been filled with a lot of bad things such as ISIS attacks around the world, mass shootings, the zika virus outbreak, Britain leaving the EU, many deaths of beloved celebrities and, for some, the Presidential election. This had led some people to say that 2016 is the worst year ever. This is, in my opinion, quite far from the truth. There are countless other years that have been far worse. So here are 5 reasons that I feel show us 2016 has not been the worst year ever.
5: We have things like indoor plumbing and air conditioning
Although this is not something the every person has, it is available to quite a significant part of the world's population unlike before it was invented where if it was hot or cold outside you just had to find a way to deal with it. Before the invention of indoor plumbing large cities is around the world would have sewage lining the streets which would lead to the spread of various diseases. I am sure most people do not consider how much these thing have improved are life.
4: There is no World War
While the fight against the terror group against ISIS is still going it is focused mainly in the middle east with a some attacks occurring in other regions around the world. Thankfully though this is the only major military conflict at the moment and there is no war that requires multiple different countries to send in millions of troops to fight for the protection or acquisition of land. The last century was had possibly the two worst wars in the history of the world, World War 1 and 2 which occurred roughly twenty years apart and lead to the death of millions of people in almost every major power. I know that I am grateful I do not have to worry about being drafted to go fight in a World War.
3: More people in more places have rights
Not every person in every country has all the rights they deserve but it is a fact that more people have more rights than ever before in history. In the last few centuries countless different many groups of people have gained equal rights that they have deserved, some of these include: women, racial minorities, non-christians and homosexuals.Take the United States voting rights for example, when it was first form the only people who were allowed to vote were white male landowners but now for the most part any citizen over the age of 18 is allowed to vote. For most of history all of these groups were treated quite poorly by almost every society and I am glad that the world has come so far since then that in many places around the world these people are treated as the same as everyone else.
2: The Holocaust is not happening
In 1941 Adolf Hitler, who is probably one of the worst people to ever live, started the Holocaust which was the deadliest genocide in history and resulted in the death of around 11 million people by the time it came to an end in 1945. This was probably one of the worst things to happen in the history of the world and today there may be people who believe in ethnic cleansing but it has been a long time since any of them have had any success.While there are still attempts at genocide today, because of many changes in the speed that news spreads and the creation of international co-operation groups such as the United Nations, none of these attempts will go as far as the Holocaust. Today a majority of people are do not have to fear that they will be hunted down and killed by the leader of their government and that is literally the least a government can do.
1: The planet was not hit by an asteroid that killed almost all living things
Almost all scientists now agree that the Dinosaurs and all most other life that lived with them were killed by a giant asteroid. Someday this may happen again but unless it happens in the next month or so then 2016 will not be the worst year ever because I am pretty sure everyone can agree that the extinction of our species would be literally the worst.
