Social Insecurity

The debate in France over raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 has heated up. Protests across the country have sprouted up, and some have gotten downright unruly, with windows being smashed in some cities. Mostly, though, demonstrations in cities like Paris have largely been peaceful. However, the demonstrations have been complemented by general strikes and a walkout of truck drivers, causing fuel shortages throughout the country. As I watch this unfold on my television screen, I can only ask myself one question.

Why can't we be more like the French?

I used to think it would help for Americans to adopt French assumptions when it comes to art and culture, philosophy, and how relevant it is if the president keeps a mistress. But now I wish we'd be more like the French when it comes to preserving, protecting, and defending our hard-won government programs, like Social Security. Republicans don't just want to raise the retirement age from 65 - three years higher than it is in France - to 70. They want to privatize it and maybe even get rid it altogether. Where's the outage? And will there be any if the Tea Party takes over?

Good grief, when the French go on general strikes, that sometimes means a new prime minister in a week. In America, we've been conditioned to believe that even threatening a strike can cost us our jobs. Where's the joie de vivre, the esprit de corps, and all those other French-named fighting moods of the American worker? Why can't we do what our grandparents did during the Depression - stop the assembly lines and stage sit-ins? Come on, my fellow Americans - show those frogs we have their same fighting spirit!