Tue, 2007-02-06 16:35.
For the last hundred years or so, perspective in the United States has been shifting from a focus on the rights of society to the rights of the individual. When society as a whole has perceived rights, each individual has a responsibility toward the community. Whenever the perceived rights of an individual surpass those of the community, anything bad that happens to a person is seen as cause for punishment. This leads to the current state of our judiciary system.
Lawsuits filed over spilling coffee on your own lap make for amusing warning labels. Other cases have more drastic results. Businesses simply stop offering services because they are seen as too much of a lawsuit risk. Chuck E. Cheese and McDonald's do away with ball pits because of the risk of disease or injury. Companies are forced to make business decisions simply to avoid the lawsuits.
zeldman, in response to a passionate call to action for the CSS Working Group.