Donna Brazile
The milestones that we commemorated in 2015 reminded us that our past has been filled with years that have been every bit as tumultuous as this one.
In March, President Obama helped to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic marches from Selma to Montgomery, when the non-violent marchers put their lives on the line to help secure voting rights for all Americans. The sacrifices and courage of the civil rights heroes who made those marches will never be forgotten.
We also marked the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with emotional commemorations on the Gulf Coast. New Orleans residents celebrated the recovery made so far, and committed to continuing the work of rebuilding the affected communities.
We were reminded again of the vital contributions made by the men and women of our military with ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, and marked 50 years since the first U.S. ground troops arrived in Vietnam. As those occasions were noted, the commitment of American soldiers in Afghanistan entered its 14th year.
In a celebration of outstanding success, 2015 marked 50 years of the Head Start program, which has provided learning, health and nutrition assistance to over 32 million children.
And on a lighter note, it’s been 10 years since the founding of YouTube allowed Internet users unparalleled access to videos of news, entertainment and adorable cat antics.
The events of 2015 were dominated by the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino near the end of the year. The scenes of slaughter in one of the world’s most beautiful cities and in the incongruous setting of an employee holiday party put the American public on edge to a degree not felt since 9/11. That level of concern upended the presidential contests. On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton solidified her lead as the candidate with the most foreign policy experience. But she remains in a competitive race, especially in the two early states, with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Among the Republicans, things got ugly as businessman and former reality TV star Donald Trump proposed a ban on all Muslims entering the United States. Trump had already dominated and distorted the race ever since announcing a run in June with a speech denouncing Mexicans as rapists. His unexpectedly high poll numbers only got bigger in the wake of the fear generated by the ISIS attacks.
ISIS sympathizers weren’t the only ones killing Americans in 2015, as the nation saw more in the grim procession of mass shootings. In November four people were killed and nine injured after a shooting at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs. In June, 21-year old Dylann Roof was arrested for the murder of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina – a crime that prosecutors say was unquestionably motivated by racial hatred.
At least when pictures surfaced of Roof posing with Confederate flags, the public revulsion was enough to finally force the removal of the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds in South Carolina. The Confederate flag was also removed from the Alabama state capital and from specialty license plates in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland.
The year saw the lives of millions of Americans affected by political and societal change. A federal district court blocked President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, leaving almost 5 million immigrants who arrived here as children in danger of deportation. On the other hand, after 54 years, President Obama restored diplomatic relations with Cuba, although ending the travel and trade bans requires Congressional action, which is unlikely to be swift in coming.
But the most welcome change in 2015 was the June Supreme Court decision ruling legalizing gay marriage throughout the country. It took a while to convince a certain county clerk in Kentucky, but hopefully marriage equality is here to stay.
The summer saw the first visit to the United States by Pope Francis, thrilling the faithful. The pontiff spoke at the United Nations, filled Madison Square Garden and became the first pope ever to address Congress.
The end of the year also saw some hopeful moves forward on climate change, as representatives of 195 nations reached an agreement on limiting greenhouse gas emissions to help forestall global warming. Oh, and if the effort to save planet Earth is too little, too late, NASA announced in 2015 that there is liquid water on Mars.
In sports, the New England Patriots shocked the Seattle Seahawks with a goal line interception in the closing moments that gave them victory in Super Bowl XLIX. The Golden State Warriors took the NBA championship for the first time in 40 years with a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Chicago Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in the past six years. And the Kansas City Royals won their first World Series since 1985 by defeating the New York Mets.
As we watch the year 2015 recede in the rearview mirror, let us say a prayer of thanks for having passed through a very hazardous stretch of territory – and hope the journey ahead will be smoother.
Happy New Year.
— Donna Brazile is a senior Democratic strategist, a political commentator and contributor to CNN and ABC News, and a contributing columnist to Ms. Magazine and O, the Oprah Magazine.
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