probably a simple problem with permissions

[David Wassman]

I am probably understanding this problem incorrectly meaning there is a 
simple explanation that is escaping me. My /dev/cd0 is owned by root so  
I have tried to change both the owner and the group so I can use it as a 
user.

I have tried:
chmod 777 /dev/cd0
chmod -R 777 /dev/cd0
chgrp 777 /dev/cd0

The problem is that when I reboot the system the old permissions return 
and I have to su and change the permissions back. How do I make these 
changes permanent? There is probably a security reason for  this but it 
is very inconvenient on a desktop station. Any help would be 
appreciated. I am running 5.3.

David