2017 is a new year, and a year that everybody looks forward to. Why does everybody look eagerly towards 2017 compared with other new years before it? Perhaps it is that sense of a fresh new start or the beginning of a resolve to keep pushing forward in life. These strong feelings come from the thought that 2016 was most definitely a year with many negative events and negative feelings towards different matters that happened during the year.
The event that probably stood out the most as negative to a lot of people was the 2016 presidential election. This election did not nearly reach the same amount of popularity as the 2008 election, because people of the country generally did not like candidates running against each other. The election has shown just how divided the nation can be over different issues and matters. Controversies and arguments intensify all over the country as the two parties battle it out for the White House. Overall, this added to the pessimistic view of 2016 that people had also stacked on top of other events.
Another event that added to the negativity of 2016 was the Orlando shooting, when a 29 year old man attacked and killed 49 people and wounded many others at a homosexual nightclub with armed weaponry. The tragic shooting affected many people, including the relatives of the victims and the people who are a part of the LGBT community. This massacre was a shock and added onto the negativity of 2016.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, another attack has left the year stricken with grief. The Bastille Day attack in Nice, France, resulted in the deaths of 86 people and over 400 injuries when the perpetrator of the crime drove a 19 ton truck through the crowds on the beach. This mass murder even raised massive panic and alarm, as well as intensifying the amount of military activity against ISIL.
Adding onto the negativity of 2016, there has also been many long-remembered celebrities that passed away. Songwriter David Bowie died of liver cancer, and many fans of Bowie mourned his passing. Carrie Fisher, the actor behind Princess Leia since 1977 Star Wars, died of cardiac arrest. Her death was also mourned by all the fans of Star Wars and of her life and works. Shortly afterwards Fisher’s mother Debbie Reynolds died of a stroke while she was planning her daughter’s funeral. Muhammad Ali also died in 2016, even though his legacy lives on as a boxing legend. There are many more celebrities that died in 2016, causing the mourning from many fans worldwide.
Another controversial issue that has left 2016 with a conflicting atmosphere was Brexit. Brexit is the concept and idea of Great Britain leaving the European Union. Brexit was voted on and both sides were conflicting with each other on whether to leave the Union or not. In the end, there was a greater voter count in support of Brexit. The conflicting opinions not only set the country’s path on separating from the Union, but also on separating the people based on what they believe in.
It is not just humans having conflicts with humans, but also with the environment as well in 2016. Due to pollution and human influence, the oceans have been getting more and more acidic, and not even the massive amount of water present in the oceans can dilute the acid for long. Many species of fish and wildlife in the ocean has been experiencing the effects of more acidic waters. On the surface, animals like the elephant in certain areas are still endangered, as well the many other species on the world that is affected by environmental changes.
Even though there has been some good things that happened in 2016, overall it has been a rather negative year compared with the previous years. One can only hope that 2017 would bring better times than 2016.