As pacer142 said - this subject is very polarised and so rather than degenerate this thread into an argument I think I'll back away from further inflaming the situation.
I do miss the pre-9/11 days however. I got invited to ride in the jump seat of a Sabena 146 from just after take off from Brussels until after landing at BHX one time, and many flights used to leave to cockpit door open for the duration of the flight. This was all very comforting for a nervous flyer and these days of locked and bolted cockpit doors are much less fun for the white knuckle riders amongst us. Sadly those days appear to be gone forever.