>>Okay, now I see what you're getting at. If that were the case, then wouldn't you expect the kids from the neighborhood where I grew up (where lots of kids had lots of personal freedom--the neighborhood leaned pretty far left and actually, still does) to have turned out badly on the whole? That's certainly not the case.
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>We don't seem to be on the same wavelength here. I keep trying to say that things are different now than when you and I were kids, and you continue to tell me about how nice it was when you were a kid. Ok, I agree. Things were great when I was a kid too. It's not relevant to how things are now.

But I haven't seen any actual evidence from you that things are worse today, just your sense that it's true. I'm reminded of the quote that gets passed around now and then about how awful kids are today compared to when the speaker was young. Adults nod their head at how true it all is, and then it's revealed that the quote is generations old.

I think there's a natural tendency for us to feel that life was simpler and better when we were young. I suspect that's because we were protected from lots of unpleasantness.

Tamar