What you're saying is a nice idea, but it ain't going to happen. There are a lot of lousy parents out there, and your view of a good parent is most certainly not the same as mine. What makes this country great is the dynamic. I lived in Sweden for a several years, and in many ways it's the kind of society you describe (albeit from a Democratic Socialist perspective). It was safe, there were no homeless, people were caring, children truly seemed to be enjoying childhood, the environment was clean, the elderly were cared for, the king and queen were beloved -- it was ideal, but it lacked the sort of creativity and innovation that conflict brings. Debate is good for intellect. Why do you participate in this forum if you're against the squabblefest? As far as lying and stealing go, that can be reduced with greater openness. A benevolent king would not change that unless we were all automatons, which we're not.

What keeps me around here is that this squabblefest is under restraint, self-imposed for the most part. And I could say that in the U.S. the same kind of restraint also exists, in *many* places but certainly not in all. There are some places that are just bad. And that's not good. They can be liberated, and should be, too.