THE NEW NORMAL
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more ACE to many students who already have far too many .
Do a quick search for “ age of anxiety ” on Amazon and you ’ ll find at least 20 pages of results , most written before the pandemic and many aimed at children , teens , and parents . Lest you conclude that you live in a nation of navel-gazers , a quick review of the past quarter-century might be helpful :
• in 1998-99 a president is impeached over perjury and inappropriate relationships .
• in 1999 15 students and teachers are shot and killed at Columbine High School in Colorado .
• in 2000 we wait four weeks to know the results of the presidential election , and the Electoral College overrides the popular vote for the first time in 112 years .
• in 2001 the country experiences almost 3,000 deaths on September 11 , bringing the reality of terrorism into our everyday lives .
• in 2001 five people die and 17 are injured as a result of Anthrax arriving in their mail .
• in 2001 the country begins a war in Afghanistan that will last 20 years and cost more than 2,300 US lives .
• in 2002 the country begins a second war in Iraq which will cost more than 4,500 US lives .
• in 2002 a sniper kills 17 people and injures 10 more in random attacks in the DC suburbs .
• in 2004 social media begins as Facebook debuts .
• in 2007 the iPhone and Twitter are introduced .
• in 2008 the housing bubble collapses , leading to an economic meltdown and the Great Recession as trillions in wealth disappear .
• School , church , and other mass shootings continue .
• Economic dislocation continues as automation and overseas labor replaces many jobs , both blue and white collar .
• Political gridlock deepens .
• in 2014 Eric Garner is choked to death by police officers in New York City , 18 year-old Michael Brown is shot and killed by police officers in Ferguson , MO , and 12 year-old Tamir Rice is shot and killed by police officers in Cleveland . Officers are acquitted , leading to civil unrest .
• in the 2016 presidential election , the winner of the popular vote loses the Electoral College , and the election , for the second time in five elections .
• in 2020 a pandemic spreads throughout the world , shutting down schools and jobs and leading to another economic meltdown .
• in 2020 the economic meltdown caused by the pandemic hits middle and lower class while the stock market hits record highs , and wealth among the top 1 % increases astronomically .
• in 2020 the Black Lives Matter movement intensifies internationally in the wake of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor , the latest and most graphic examples of police misconduct toward people of color .
Page 4 Fall 2021 CSEE Connections