S Korea's protests over Beef

Can you imagine that tens of thousands of Americans might protest over the sale of beef greater than a few years old?

For that matter, can you imagine American's protesting about anything whatsoever?

I don't know to what extent the South Korea beef protests have been organized by their government. Not much, is my impression. And yet many of them are out there, vocal about what they are expected to eat. The French protest. Those in the middle East certainly do.

What a difference from this country.

Here, we eat whatever beef we get. The administration sends young men to be killed for the sake of Exxon and BP, and no one seems to even understand it at all (least of all the pitiful press). We accept high gas prices for the sake of high profits, and are generally content to be screwed up the ass on pretty much every economic factor in the universe.

And still no one complains.

What is going on? I never saw a protest in New Hampshire, about anything. Here in Portland there is the occasional protest march, until 3:00 when everyone decides it's time to go to the pub. The streets quiet very quickly.

We were born from the froth of revolution. Even a hundred and fifty years ago we felt so strongly about issues as to engage in a horrid civil war. People even tried in the '60s...and a few poor souls in Seattle in 1999.

Where is it now? Is everyone too happy, too afraid, too confused, too stupid? I don't understand.