Image of the Year: The Capitol insurrection

You probably will never forget where you were on January 6, when a mob of Trump supporters breached the Capitol building in an attempt to overturn his defeat in the 2020 US presidential election. The event is considered one of the greatest threats to democracy in the country’s history, and it highlighted the fragility of our democratic institutions amid an onslaught of misinformation and conspiracy theories pushed by the former president and his allies.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll from May, 25% of Americans and 53% of Republicans believed that Donald Trump was the “true president” despite virtually no evidence of voter fraud during the last election.

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Runner up: The Ever Given gets stuck in the Suez Canal

The writers of 2021 had a really good time with this plot line. One of the world’s largest cargo ships, the Ever Given, got stuck in the Suez Canal in March for six days, throttling traffic in a critical trade route and adding another element of chaos to already discombobulated supply chains.

But as we try to reset and correct past mistakes for the new year, maybe we can learn a thing or two from the Ever Given: It successfully navigated the Suez Canal earlier this month in its first attempt since its public humiliation.

Runner up: Covid memorial in Washington, DC

650,000+ white flags were planted on the National Mall in September to remember the lives lost due to Covid in the US. More than 800,000 Americans have now died of Covid-19, with 75% of the deaths occurring among people 65 and older. More than 5.4 million have died globally.—NF