For the Children?

I was about 5 years old when my cousin Bill and I hopped on our bikes, fishing poles in one hand, tackle box tied to the handle bars, no helmet and usually barefoot. We peddled our way about a mile to our favorite fishing spot. We would fish for hours and our return time was "before the street lights came on".
We would arrive back at Grams filthy and starved with a pile of bony bottom feeders that we were ever so proud of. We took turns in the tub while Gram served up dinner including Gramps efforts from his garden. We ate well, we slept well.
The next day, we'd climb onto the back of Gramps truck and head down the road to visit a relative, usually bringing them tomatoes or cucumbers or corn. My aunt Norma made the best dandelion greens, so we always hoped we went there. We'd pull up and pile out of the truck, she'd spot us through the window and put on a large pot of the freshly picked greens and warm the vinegar.
Summer in the rural farm country of upstate New York was always adventurous and fun for growing children. Playing in the hay mounds of the farm, weeding the gardens, collecting frogs and tadpoles and interesting looking bugs. Nothing came with a warning label, save the skull and cross bones on Grams rat poison.

Now, cruising the country side of my home town at the age of 45 I don't see the sights I saw as a child. There are rarely children on bikes. When you do see them they are likened to the child in Little Giants whos mother wrapped him in foam so he wouldn't get hurt.
We, as a society, as so obsessed with safety that we are now being led by fear. Children are no longer allowed to be children. "Scaredy cat" and "yellow bellied" were names we were terrified of being called. Today, those terms are unheard of. Fear is what we teach our children. We tell them to fear falling, fear strangers, fear terrorists, flying, being out alone...
Millions of tax payers dollars are being spent on researching why our children are over weight. Do we really wonder? We blame Mc Donalds and fast food. Is it?
We are raising a generation of children who do nothing. They sit in front of a PC, a video game or a television. They don't go outside without being completely supervised. They have no energy, no imagination.
In our desire to keep our children safe, we have stifled them. We have taken away childhood and all that it should be. We have disposed of childhood and replaced it with scared, fat, short people who will one day lead this country. Is this really all right with you?