If you had asked me last month about the 2020 Presidential Election, I would have responded that I cannot wait for it to be over. I think most people would also have included that they cannot wait for 2020 to come to an end. 2020 has been a year not only punctuated by the usual natural disasters, earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes, and tsunamis, but it has also been a year of many questions about human rights. The global civil unrest has been an opportunity for discussions about the rights of the seen and often unseen person. Do all lives matter? If they do, should we be doing things differently? This year we also added COVID-19 to the list of stressful, catastrophic occurrences.
What about the presidential election? For some, it also falls into this category because, during the process, the results and their consequences are also unknown. It is natural for adults to feel overwhelmed by the process, the news coverage of the debates, who did what, and how terrible the world will be if a person is elected or a prop is passed.
On Election Day, I noticed a man standing on the street corner with a sign that said, “No matter which party wins, let us come together and move forward as a nation!” Great idea, and one I hope will come to fruition. As an outsider, I have heard the arguments from both sides. What concerns me most is the rhetoric used to describe the politicians. These types of conversations impact the adults having them and the children listening to them. For 2e children who are often sensitive to the feelings and fears of those around them, this can increase their anxiety.
Many 2e students find politics fascinating, which makes an election year the perfect time to explore political issues and the propositio...
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