It was deemed devastating that Hillary Clinton lost the United States (US) presidential election last month. Even more so given who she lost to; the world may well be a lot more dangerous of a place with Donald Trump as president but we must remember one thing in looking back: how far we have come. What I mean by that is the remarkable progress that has taken place over the previous century. Although there are many examples of such progress, there are two main areas that I wish to focus on here.
Racial equality
Number one is the equality between the races.
Who would have thought that we would have an African-American president in America? Although it truly is remarkable times, it was not always like this. In the plight of the journey for African-Americans, the work done during the previous century set the tone for the world that we live in today. The emergence of the civil rights movement in America was a consequence of century's long slavery and racial oppression. Now although there was similar progress in Britain, my focus on this part will be on the US. Through "nonviolent protest" according to the Britannica website, the civil rights activists in the 1950s and '60s "broke the pattern" of segregation and oppression against African-Americans in Society.
The effects of such abuse left long lasting scars on the souls of the African-American community, but as a result of such action taken, the world we live in is much different to that of last century. We can look no further than what has gone before us over the previous eight years to demonstrate this. The fact that the US has had an African-American president is testament to the hard work of figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr.
As a result, we have unity, cooperation and most importantly equality between the races.
Men and women equal
Second of all there is the improved plight of Women in today's society. From where we were at the start of the twentieth century to where we are today is simply remarkable. The fact that we were only a whisker away from having our first ever female president in the US is testament to that.
Let us remember how life was before. Expected simply to stay home, to raise their children and to generally be a house-wife, women really had very few rights. In the United Kingdom (UK), it was the actions of the suffragettes who really made a difference. Campaigning for female rights, the pressure applied by women such as Emmeline Pankhurst had a positive effect. This was demonstrated in a number of ways, none more so than in 1928 when the age limitation for women became the same as for men; 21. Bit by bit, progress was made. In 1929, Margaret Bondfield became the first female cabinet minister. Over the course of the previous century, through campaigning and rallying change occurred. There is now gender equality.
It is no surprise to see a female in a managerial position, or to be a CEO. Even almost having a female president in America was deemed normal. The fact that nobody makes a noise when such things happen illustrates just how far we have come. The BBC even stated that the twentieth century will be viewed by historians as the "women's hour".
Work still required
Despite such progress, there is still much more to do. There are still discrepancies. In sport for example the BBC noted in 2014 that 30 percent of sports reward men more highly than women. There is also the case that Racism still exists in society, whether that be on the football field or on the streets.
But look how far we have come
However, despite this, we must focus on the positives.
Although there is more to do, where we have come in the past century is a remarkable feat and one that should be applauded. We cannot become complacent but we must also recognise what we have done well. Now although Hillary Clinton did lose, with the progress made, it is not all bad news.
