Have Americans lost that good old revoluntionary spirit?
Ryan McCullough
With the possibility of the minimum retirement age being raised from 60 to 62 in France, everyone from labor unions to university students have taken to the streets.Airports in France have had to cancel flights resulting from fuel shortages caused by the strikes. Trains and local buses aren’t always running on schedule. Even garage men refused to work.
The measure is likely to pass but at least the French people have made their voice heard.
But wait, it’s only two years, right? Are the French just a bunch of complainers?
The French aren’t merely getting worked up because they are lazy people. It’s a question concerning the quality of life.
In France, overall average life expectancy is 80-years-old. When, on average, you have 20 years of life left after retiring, two years takes on more meaning.
That’s two less years to spend with family and friends.
That’s two less years to spend growing fruits and vegetables in a garden.
That’s two less year to plan trips to see the Grand Canyon or the Eiffel Tower.
That’s two less years to spend however you see fit.
When Ronald Reagan rose the retirement age from 65 to 67 in the United States, no one said a word.
The overall average life expectancy is 78 in the United States. That leaves only 11 years out of one’s life of not being bonded to the everyday nine-to-five.
We have roughly half the years to enjoy as the French after retiring and still, no fuss was made. Have Americans become so complacent in living in the “land of the free” that every policy passed is considered good and right?
I don’t know about you but I dread the idea of wasting my life away in front of a computer screen or crammed into a cubicle.
I see my parent’s go to jobs they aren’t enamored with. I see fellow students just trying to get a job because that’s what you are supposed to do.
It seems so many people end up in jobs they aren’t happy with because money is a necessity of modern life. So, aren’t those final years when you can get away of supreme importance?
Maybe, we, as Americans, should take a page out of the book of the French. They saw a policy their government is adopting which they didn’t agree with and they did something. They shouted and hollered to make sure their government heard their discontent.
Would Americans do anything remotely similar to policies they are opposed to?
