Real life has plenty of hardship to overcome and that's
where I believe those lessons should be learned. Not forced on us in a
fictional way.

Agreed. And not hidden from us either. I'll never forget a relative lying to
me and telling me they'd found a new home for my old horse, when in fact he was
bound for the glue factory. I'd seen a horse "put down" for inoperable
gangrene, and held the halter because the owner was too upset. A quick death
for a dying animal was part of my life.
zemedelec