Color Blind

Being in Crete I have found that I am seeing everything in hyper-color. Everything seems so much more vibrant, or even luminescent to an extent. One of the colors that I have noticed the most is the color white. On Crete there are just as many citizens walking around with whitewashed hair that no longer holds its original pigment as there are people whose hair is still young and healthy. Although this may seem odd to notice, it is indicative of the age of the population, and in Crete it appears as though the elder generation outnumbers the youth. Even more interesting to observe is the activity of the population, mainly that everyone in the community seems to be actively contributing to community life and progression in some way, shape, or form. It is almost as if the concept of retirement has not caught on here. As an outsider looking in I find that I have a lot more questions that answers for this observation.
Is there some form of state sponsored retirement safe net in place? Was this lost when the austerity measures began? Have people in retirement had to come out of retirement a necessity? Or is this merely the cretan way; to always be a contributing and engaged community member instead of eventually reaching freeload status Or does it come down to difference in culture? What I mean by this is the fact that a lot of the activities that community members rely on to live here (such as farming, fishing, baking, etc. etc) are the same type of activities that people in the states look forward to being able to do once they reach retirement and are no longer burdened by the 9-5 schedule. Obviously there is a discrepancy in the amount of time and effort that the activities require in terms of the lifestyle that they are adapted to, but the American mindset views these as leisure activities instead of legitimate, respectable work.
The simple explanation is that America values innovation and progression more than anything else and is willing to sacrifice tradition, culture, and leisure in order to maintain its assumed hierarchy and alfa wolf position, so obviously it looks down upon a more action way of life. But there is no reason why something like baking, farming, or fishing cannot require a sophisticated mindset in order to make it work and make it special, and my time thus far on Crete has taught me that; from my hours spent in the bakery to the walks that I have had through the various orchards that are scattered throughout the landscape. Although they may seem like simpler activities, the Greeks have perfected the lifestyle and have turned it into an art and science. From the color of the oranges and avocados, to the smell of the breads and pastries, to the taste of each meal...everything seems more genuine and sincere here than anything I have experience back home. It appears as though America has more to learn from the Greeks than merely a democratic model.