"However, at some point, the public needs "grow up" too, and always treating us like five year olds certainly won't stimulate this process."

The public always has the ability to "grow up" as you put it but they do not want to. People are not motivated to take action if there isn't an immediate risk to their own personal well being. Risk has been taken out of many things that we do so now we can make ignorant choices without immediate consequences.

We keep falling off the bike, but instead of scraping our knee and learning not to fall, we have a security net there to save us over and over again.

I don't blame the government for treating us like 5 year olds when that is how a majority of people act.