Anonymous_Coward wrote:I agree with others above that the world is not any more dangerous now than it was then. It is people's perceptions that have changed. Bad stuff has always happened since the beginning of the world. In fact, by most measures, we now live in the safest situation of any people in history. What has changed besides perceptions (or perhaps coloring those perceptions) is that there are now literally twice as many people on the planet.
True, if by "the world" you mean the US in general. In some parts of the country, things are much worse than they were 20 years ago. In my area, a huge percentage of the population have become addicted to meth and heroin in the last decade. It's an obvious, and relatively new problem, and these shriveled, hideous, desperate people are responsible for the large increase in burgulary and violence. And I believe that the "entertainment" that pursues us and the "news" that assaults us are in part responsible for a somewhat darker, more careless attitude toward life and good human relations. Still, these things are no reason to keep your kids in the house.
People really have become incapable of seeing reality, or assessing danger. I have a friend with three kids who will not let them out of the yard. He lives next to a nice patch of woods and a big farm, and his kids have never walked any of it. He says a redneck might come along and rape them. "Isn't it possible?" he asks. "Sure it's possible, but that would be a tragedy, and there is no point in trying to save ourselves from tragedy." He doesn't know what I mean.
Sadly, I suspect that ignorant parents aren't the direct reasons kids aren't out there rooting around. Kids aren't interested. They have too much mind-numbing stupidity to worry about.