I've received yet another chain e-mail telling me how superior things were in the 1950s. Actually, this one contends that our superior '50s world produced superior people with superior brains. The contention of the e-mail is that "the lawyers and the government regulated our lives" so now there are things we used to do, that were good for us, but our kids can no longer do. These things we used to do were so good for us that they turned us into courageous inventors and thinkers. (Sigh.)
Below, I've taken apart the contention, point by point, and given it a score. It ain't pretty.