Most students are procrastinators. I can’t help but chuckle as I walk into the library at midnight, the day before a stats project is due, and see half my class plugging away. Poor things, chugging coffee to stay awake, leaning their heads on one another for support like dominoes. Chuckle, that is, until I ask them to move over and secure a spot myself.
We’re not good at planning ahead. Thinking long-term isn’t in our repertoire. As politically aware as I consider myself, I had to scramble to remember to return my absentee ballot for today’s election (I doubt I’ll forget to drown my misery in whiskey as results trickle in). I’ve never filed my tax return without requesting an extension (assuming I get the extension form in on time). Even Halloween, a holiday practically created for college students, leaves many of us feverishly searching for costume ideas at the last minute (props to The Incubator for the hurried recommendations).
Which makes the following story that much more impressive. French students are leading protests against President Nicolas Sarkozy’s vow to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62.
“The students and labor unions see the pension reform as an attack on their well-deserved social protections,” according to Newser.com. Well-deserved social protections! I don’t disagree with the entitlement, but the students have hardly worked a day in their lives and they’re already thinking retirement benefits! It’s like asking your Kindergarten teacher for your Bachelor’s diploma. Aren’t there more pertinent issues affecting young voters than preserving the rights of the nincompoops (sounds French) who helped amass their national deficit in the first place? Or are these kids really planning that far in advance?
If only Americans shared their prescience.
The 2010 midterm elections illustrate our nation’s inability to plan ahead. Disgusted by politics as usual, citizens vote against incumbents in hope that the deadlock in Congress will cease. Instead, as Republicans claw their way to more seats, our legislature becomes split like a pistachio and we’re the nut(s) in the middle that created it. Sidenote: It’s disturbing news for Republicans, who may not claim a majority of seats in an outright toxic climate for Democrats. The current public outrage, manifested in votes against “the establishment,” will produce more politics as usual than if we elected more Democrats to govern the following two years. Ah, logic.
One individual who is planning ahead is President Barack Obama. I watched his appearance on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart last week, and was astonished by his gaiety. His party headed toward doomsday, the president looked, not only his usual composed self, but jubilant.
Why?
He’s planning ahead for 2012. I suspect he actually hopes the Democrats relinquish control of Congress. That way, when he campaigns for reelection, he’ll be able to point to GOP obstruction (legitimately this time) as an excuse for passing ugly bipartisan bills or lack thereof.
I’m convinced those who meticulously blueprint, instead of reacting at the last-minute, are more successful. Obama is a savvy politician and he understands the value of planning and organizing in order to secure a second term. I somehow doubt when he was at Harvard he was one of those students crammed into the library at 1 a.m. scurrying to finish an assignment.
Maybe that’s why he’s so calm and pleasant all the time. He’s prepared. The GOP, already at an intellectual disadvantage, will be playing catch up to field a formidable candidate, but for once, the disheveled Democrats are a step ahead.
Conor Shapiro is a graduate student in the School of International Service and a liberal columnist.
edpage@theeagleonline.com
