Well I would state the future, because everything in the future will be aweseome... hopefully. And staying here in the good 'ol present is just fine, but if I was to go back in time and observe an era, or at least passively interact with one....
The 1960s. Really, it would be a terrifying time to live in. Sure, there was the mutually assured nuclear annihilation thing, but that the that would keep me from wanting to participate full on in the decade would be the Vietnam War. Hearing about the veterans who came back basically broken in one way or the other makes me glad we have not had a draft since.
On the other hand, seeing what was going on in a socio-political sense woul d be astounding. Vietnam was one of the most polarising things to occur to America's collective pysche, and seeing the environment that tensin creates seems kind of exciting. Then again, the 60s was pretty much the decade of great social change i.e. counterculture, second-wave feminism.
The thing I would really want to see though is something that occured almost directly at the end of the decade... No, not Woodstock you greasy hippie, I'm talking about something cosmic. Y'know, the first ever manned moon landing? Seeing something like that seems like it would be awesome. Especially since it seems like we will not have another man on the moon for many years now...
EDIT: Also, baring all that, the time I would want to go to is the BEGINNING OF TIME ITSELF. That's right, witnessing the birth of all creation. So yeah.
Edited by Ken the Wandering Soul, 16 April 2010 - 01:28 AM.