By James Chappel / Made by History January 3, 2025 9:00 AM EST A mericans, myself included, have a contradictory relationship with retirement. The whole thing is supposed to be relaxing. It’s a decade or two of well-deserved leisure time at life’s end, devoted to family, friends, and voluntary pursuits. It’s an actual right: one of the few that we have as Americans, and one guaranteed by Social Security, our most popular and well-functioning social program. And yet the popular discussion about