We all must and probably ought at some point lose our innocence. But there is a developmentally appropriate time for that to happen - a stage in cognitive and moral development when the loss of innocence can yield to thoughtful reflection and thoughtful choices (which is not to say that all thoughtful reflections lead all thoughtful people to the same thoughtful conclusions) that are not, by and large, cynical. So far in this thread we are mostly baby boomers commenting.

It occurs to me that it is supremely arrogant of me to speak of an age of innocence. The preceding generations within the memory of most of our cohort here on Mudcat, our mothers and fathers and grandparents, experienced WWI, the Great Depression and WWII, and came away from those experiences determined that the next generation could have the luxury of a time of innocence.