What was the best time in history to live?

Probably about 1955, in the United States, for an adult white male. You had opportunities, there was plenty of money around, the crime rate was low, there was plenty of government social support if you needed it, you had freedom, there were no major wars in play, the population was still only about 160 million in the U.S., so plenty of open spaces still. Science and technology had made spectacular strides in the previous 70 years, so, most of the important technologies we have now, they already had then. Computers and cell phones are overrated. Television, telephones, a good mail service, and good libraries are perfectly adequate for information technology purposes. Life expectancy wasn’t much less than it is now. You had to watch out for the psychiatrists and the mental hospitals though! You could be institutionalized for life on rather modest grounds, if the shrinks decided you were “mentally ill”, for some reason or other. I think that’s why people saw “analysts” — psychotherapists. You were paying someone to say you were sane, and shouldn’t be institutionalized, so their colleagues couldn’t institutionalize you without risking their own licenses to practice.