#5 Cuba. The atrocities of any government that forbid its people from access to liberties fundamentally integral to humanness should not go unnoticed or without implications. Certainly the government of Cuba in the past and the present should be held accountable for its actions, which led the government of the United States to enact a 55-year longstanding embargo. President Obama’s administration began to turn the tide at the conclusion of 2014 with steps toward reinstating diplomatic relations with the island nation. The government of Cuba should ultimately be held accountable for the limited ability of the Cuban people to advance in the modern era, but the international community also holds opportunities for humanity to advance itself for the better of all mankind, regardless of the presence of communism. Improving diplomatic relations with Cuba and potentially limiting the effects or eliminating the embargo completely will enable Cubans to contribute to the advancement of humanity for the island and for the world.
#4 Pope Francis. Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been known as Pope Francis for almost two years now and during that time has also come to be known as ’the people’s pope.’ He has foregone much of the pomp and circumstance of the papacy having chosen to live simply, cross barriers no other pope in recent history has willingly crossed, and actively demonstrated a faith rooted in doctrine and service. For the second year in a row prior to Easter, Pope Francis defied church tradition and custom by washing the feet of women and Muslims among those of elderly and disabled men. By breaking the Vatican’s own regulations on foot washing two years in a row it is apparent Pope Francis cares more about the Gospel than church tradition and regulations, which is a giant leap forward for the Catholic Church and presumably for all Christians. Protestants may not answer to and contribute to the Catholic Church, but the reception of Christianity in the modern world is undoubtedly impacted by the actions of this simple Jesus-loving servant. Pope Francis has set a precedent of humanness before religiosity as the Church continues to respond and adapt to the great struggles of this present age.
#3 Coast to Coast; Border to Border. This year I had the privilege of traveling across the country both for work and pleasure. I have always enjoyed traveling and even with this year’s adventures I feel the itch to leave the boundaries of the United States, having not left its land for over a year. In 2014, I traveled from Boston to San Francisco, Bemidji to Ft. Lauderdale, and even a little trip to Sioux Falls. Although air travel is quite an advance for humanity, that has been commercialized for decades. The great advance for humanity regarding travel, borders, and coastlines is the executive order for immigration reform. This coupled with ongoing changes in the EU among other coalitions supports the advancement of humanity economically and socially. No systematic process of immigration process is perfect and the legality by which these reforms come to be should be examined. Nonetheless, even with the challenges of immigration reform, it continues to be in the best interest of humanity to legally allow peoples without significant hindrance to contribute to and benefit from societies that enhance the well-being of mankind through education, employment, and equal opportunities under the law.
#2 Serial. From the renowned staff of This American Life, Ira Glass, and WBEZ, this twelve-episode podcast made its debut as the number one podcast…in the world with the most podcast downloads, ever. Radio programming, storytelling, and public radio hits are not new, but the way this story was told was fascinatingly beautiful. Raw reporting, unfolding as it was told, listeners did not know how long the series would last, what would come of the story - and neither did the producers. That made this story gripping following the account of a convicted murderer, the witnesses, the accomplices, the legal accounts, the lies. This hit broadcast has secured a second season - and in true Serial fashion, the producers do not even know what the story will be next time. Whatever the story will be, Serial has invigorated storytelling through the historical means of radio production in a modern era of gadgets, streaming, and mobile device apps. Bridging the gap and recapturing the art of storytelling without a set script invites the next advances in our generation’s willingness to engage with telling the stories of others in a beautiful example of humanness.
#1 Malaysia Airlines 370. The disappearance of MH370 is tragic. The presumptive death of 239 individuals on a commercial flight is devastating and quite the opposite of an advance for humanity. Unfortunately this tragedy does have implications for how humanity views itself in relation to created objects and even creation itself. Without trivializing this humanitarian tragedy, there is an advance for humanity in the premise of this occurrence. In the year 2014, scientific reasoning, testing, and data analysis could not account for and locate a commercial plane weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds and the 239 missing persons onboard. The premise that humanity cannot explain all occurrences in the present day is an advance in an era of scientific discovery that seeks to explain occurrences millions of years ago. The advance for mankind is not one of acknowledging the incompleteness of scientific discovery but of celebrating the humanness of humanity. In part, to be human is to lack complete knowledge, perfect power, and omnipresence. The tragedy of MH370, like so many other inexplainable and unrepeatable occurrences, reminds us of the reality of humanness.
