I can not stand all the people who want to argue that 2016 was the worst year ever and has to come to an end asap. This happens every year whether it's some war, celebrities deaths, whatever. As for celebrity deaths there will always be more each subsequent generation due to the evolution and diversification of not only art but population as a whole. The bright side is their will be more icons to shape our world as more die. Anyways...

Without further ado, 2016 was not bad, but awesome, and here's why:

THE WORLD

• There's finally peace in Colombia
• Non-violent protests helped impeach a president in South Korea
• Gambia voted out a dictator
• The military no longer rules Myanmar
• Lebanon picked a leader - after 45 tries
• A Pope and a Russian Orthodox patriarch met for the first time in 1,000 years

THE ENVIRONMENT

• That big ozone hole over the Antarctic is starting to heal
• India planted 50 million trees -- in one day!
• Norway banned deforestation
• The Paris Agreement to limit global warming is now international law

THE US

• The high school graduation rate is at its highest
• The teen birth rate kept on falling
• The unemployment rate is the lowest in 10 years
• Americans gave to charity more than ever before

HEALTH

• Researchers found new genes that may help cure ALS (thanks ice bucket challenge)
• There's hope for a new HIV vaccine
• The measles is no more in the Americas
• Sri Lanka proved you can finish off malaria
• China bred good mosquitoes to fight the bad ones
• West Africa is ebola-free (And an experimental vaccine is 100 percent effective)

HUMAN RIGHTS

• Gambia and Tanzania banned child marriage
• The death penalty is illegal in more than half the world
• 300 African communities pledged to end female genital mutilation
• A law against 'honor' killings finally passed in Pakistan

CONSERVATION

• The tiger population rose for the first time in 100 years
• Pandas are endangered no more
• There were only 126 kakapo parrots left in the world; now there are 154!
• Hawaii boasted the largest protected place on the planet

SPORTS

• The Cubs finally won the World Series
• Leicester City defied the odds to win the Premier League
• The title-starved Cleveland won the NBA crown
• The Olympic refugee team won our hearts

SPACE

• There may be a ninth planet lurking in our solar system
• Juno made it to Jupiter - after five years
• Scientists found an Earth-like planet just 4.2 light years away
• We got serious about putting humans on Mars

The problem is that this all looks like it'll go downhill with trump as offense

I don't care if I get modded. He's a moron and has the most retarded cabinet I've ever seen( the vice president isn't any better)

 It's irritating when you constantly see promise after promise, politician after politician that provides nothing to solve many of the issues we see in America and palestine/israel. Heck, why do American politicians care so much for israel? We have enough issues here...

Don't want to get off topic though. 2016 was a decent year altogether. The economy seems to improve, especially in japan, so im hoping it stays like that. 

As for celebrities, I could care less. I only care if someone like Nelson Mandella dies.

I don't want to provide the typical "oh no trump will doom the world!" argument, but I seriously don't see anything good coming out of his presidency. Promises to tear up crucial contracts is far from ok. Decreasing the budget of NASA and Planned Parenthood and kissing up to the elite is the opposite of good. I think 2016 altogether was much better than 2015, as we also saw the conclusion of the Syrian war

Is nice to have someone showing the other side of the coin but I still think it was an awful year

.....yeah, about that...

That's awesome, imo, that you're level-headed enough to notice the negatives in your life while still accepting the positives at the end. That being said, I still have to rebute you on the simple fact that a ton of stuff on that list is, was, has been, and will be achievable despite who is in office in the US. The Trump perspective that has glossed Americans and Earthlings alike is just that, a perspective.

Gotta take those glasses off every now and then to see things clearly. Like every single president before him, some good, at a minimum, will come form his presidency. But I wish every president to do great at a maximum.

You really think you can muster up enough things to contradict that list? 

Maybe not in number but sure on negative impact for society. 

The iconic people dying is just the icing on the cake. 

Well it was a pretty decent year for me. Nothing really bad or superb happened that affected my year personally.

You realize that more celebrities dying each year is not only a natural consequence of population growth and the diversification of entertainment, but that it will happen every subsequent year? If it happens every year is that going to negate every single year's positives?

And let's be honest, the things on that list are shaping the world NOW. Most of the celebrities who died were already long past their major contributions, or all of them, to society whether it was a song, album, movie, etc, In other words, if they had continued living their impact would have still been the same since it was done with.

I wish more people would admit or realize this.

Carrie Fisher for example. I love Star Wars. But, like most everyone else, I didn't know her personally. To imply to any extent that the heartache that her close friends and family have for her would be anywhere near equal to mine would be absurd. Hence, it doesn't make an entire year any more worse than the death of a non-celebrity.