Nicholas Kristof: Why 2017 Was the Best Year Ever!

Some good news in the gloom View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Saturday, January 6, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Kristof »]( [Why 2017 Was the Best Year Ever!]( [Readers sometimes think I’m the Eeyore of journalists, but actually there’s good news to share.]( Readers sometimes think I’m the Eeyore of journalists, but actually there’s good news to share. Gordon Welters for The New York Times It’s time for [my happy column]( But first, happy new year! Everybody is feeling a bit bleak, what with the circus in Washington, clowns with nuclear weapons, and a deep freeze in much of the U.S. So I thought for [my opening column]( of the year I would try to provide a bit of perspective: For all of the problems, last year was the best year in the history of humanity. I know that’s not what the headlines say, but consider that a smaller share of people starved last year, were poor or illiterate, were disfigured or blinded by disease, or simply lived in extreme poverty than at any point since our species emerged. Today, another 300,000 people will gain access to electricity. We may think we’re living in the worst of times, but consider that when I was a kid, a majority of humans had always been illiterate and living in subsistence poverty — and both extreme poverty and illiteracy will be pretty much wiped out in the next 15 years. So, sure, President Trump gives us plenty of reason to sweat (such as the risk of a nuclear war!), but it’s also important to step back and acknowledge that we are privileged to live in an extraordinary epoch of stunning human progress. In place of Prozac, [here’s my column](. :) One of the most gratifying things to me as a columnist is the way readers respond to some of my columns. I noted in my recent list of my [least-read columns of 2017]( that my [holiday giving guide]( didn’t do well, but one of the charities I highlighted, [MiracleFeet]( which corrects clubfoot, told me that the column had raised more than $240,000 for the organization. That’s a lot of kids who will have their clubfoot corrected. Plus, a donor who had been wavering decided after the column to provide $780,000 for clubfoot. So thanks to all readers for being so generous! We’ve all been staggered by the [Michael Wolff book]( and the reaction to it. I think the Wolff book is marred by some sloppy mistakes but still powerfully conveys basic and disturbing truths that by now are pretty much self-evident: Trump is poorly informed, emotionally unstable, and only lightly controlled by the grown-ups around him. That was all confirmed by his reaction to the book, such as the savaging of Bannon and the attempt to prevent publication, which only increased sales. On issues like the Bannon relationship, the immaturity and instability are salacious reading, but on issues like North Korea, they are profoundly dangerous. Speaking of North Korea, [here’s an essay]( I did for the Times Book Review about the best books about North Korea. And on that ominous note, we need a moment of perspective more than ever. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said, the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two contradictory thoughts at the same time. So [here’s my column]( on why 2017 was the best year in human history. [Read!]( ADVERTISEMENT I welcome suggestions for what to include in this newsletter. You can connect with me on [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Google]( [Instagram]( and [Pinterest](. If you have friends who might enjoy this newsletter, forward this email; they can [sign up here](. Send feedback or tech questions to newsletters@nytimes.com. Recent Columns [Cardinal Tobin, Am I a Christian?]( Nicholas Kristof put blunt questions to Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark. [My Worst Columns]( People loved some of my columns in 2017. But not these. [Several hundred protesters outside the White House on Wednesday chanted, “No hate, no fear, trans students are welcome here.”]( Nicole Sganga [My Blog]( My blog, On the Ground, expands on my twice-weekly columns, sharing thoughts that shape the writing but don’t always make it into the 800-word text. It also features contributions from other writers. [Several hundred protesters outside the White House on Wednesday chanted, “No hate, no fear, trans students are welcome here.”](  [My Columns]( Explore a searchable collection of my previous columns dating back to 2001. ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NICHOLAS KRISTOF [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nickkristof]( [Instagram] [nickkristof]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »]( | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Nicholas Kristof newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018