The holidays are right around the corner and, even though it has yet to reach Christmas, people are starting to think of the new year. With the world set to enter 2020 many people, and publications, are reflecting on the top moments to occur in Europe over the past decade.
When I begin thinking of the past 10 years, it brings up a lot of memories. Some good and some bad, but not every moment of our lives is going to come with a positive connotation. People are not going to think about Paul the Octopus in the same light as the Colectiv Night Club Fire.
Venue owners, local officials and pyrotechnic experts are among those facing prison time for a blaze that killed 64 people at #Colectiv nightclub in Romania four years ago https://t.co/McUYK7b1qt pic.twitter.com/YcCavL1mfk— IQ Magazine (@IQ_Mag) December 16, 2019
Typically, I like to think more on the side of Paul the Octopus. I’d rather remember a fun story of an octopus picking winners of soccer matches instead of heart-wrenching news like that of 130 people being killed in the Paris Attacks of November 2015.
But when I really think about it, it has been a great decade for Europe. It was filled with clarity; whether that be Lance Armstrong finally admitting to taking performance enhancing drugs or Volkswagen admitting that they lied about how much their cars are actually emitting into the environment.
To me, these moments of transparency are representative of positive change that the future holds. We saw Europe embrace that concept fully when Ireland legalized same sex marriage and when Pope Francis gave the Catholic Church a progressive overhaul.
I’m aware that to some this may not be their preference, but to me some of the change was necessary. I mean, were we as human beings really going to pretend like climate change isn’t an issue? I guess it took Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg to really push the envelope.
If Europe wants to have another great 10 years like the past decade, they need the younger generation to step up to the plate just like Thunberg did; hopefully that happens.