By Dustin Beilke

As we here in Wisconsin prepare to rally on behalf of the mere notion of continuing to have public services, millions of public employees in France are on strike and taking to the streets because the government plans to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.  

Also, a recent study closer to home, here in the United States in fact, shows that members of the general public really do appreciate their public services even if they don't much like their elected officials. This is a quandary, certainly, but not the kind of quandary that concludes that we should eliminate the government and replace it with a series of vending machines that would be serviced by Halliburton, Blackwater and the Bradley Foundation, as Glenn Beck and Michelle Bachman seem to propose.

The Washington Post reporters who summarize the study write, "Although Republicans, and many Democrats, have tried to demonize Washington, they must contend with the fact that most major government programs remain enormously popular."

Put another way, the public dislikes the people who want us to hate government even more than it dislikes government, and whatever it thinks of government it likes what government does. People, understandably, have trouble balancing the propaganda they are inundated with against what they see with their own eyes. They cope by repeating the propaganda but not changing their core beliefs.

Some of us are uneasy about rallying and participating in job actions during a time of economic difficulty. Some of us say we should not expect to have our wages keep up with the cost of living or our health insurance to cover all the services our families need it to when so many people don't even have jobs or health insurance. 

It is not surprising that some of us might feel this way given how much effort and news coverage is put into trying to make us feel this way. But if you do not feel this way, it should comfort you to know that the French agree with you, and a majority of the general public supports you.