I think Americans have to be pushed pretty far to get to the point that we take to the streets as they do in the Middle East. I also believe this goes to our education in this country. We know there are better ways to get what we want, without destroying our whole country. It may take longer but we will win.
I agree that Americans have to be pushed further, but the despair in this country is becoming palpable. I can’t believe how many people I know are resigned to probably never working again in their fields, and they’re being joined by lots of government employees with jobs skills for little else (police, fire, untenured teachers, Motor Vehicles types). At this point if they can find a job at all it is for food & rent; home ownership is lo longer an option without viable jobs. The cut-off of unemployment benefits was the final warning: the jobs we used to work (or jobs with comparable salaries) are not returning anytime soon, so head down to your local Wal-Mart and fill out an application. While many of the gov’t. layoffs are the youngest workers, the worst situation is the older workers (often with mortgages, children, etc.) who feel they may never work again. People can prattle on about how it is their fault, and free-market economy, blah blah blah, but in the end those terms mean nothing to someone involuntarily retired at 50. Telling them it is their own fault (which may or may not be true, depending on the individual scenarios) isn’t solving anything for them.
Imagine the “Okies” in the Grapes of Wrath arriving in California and it looked just like Oklahoma...