[color:"green"]She who dies with the fewest and lightest toys wins!

Or

He who dies with the fewest and lightest toys wins!

The reality of living in the USofA is that we have the freedom to lead our own lives pretty much any (legal) way we want. (And there are those who say you can live illegally as well, but that's not the topic of this discussion.) We have the freedom to invent anything that hasn't already been patented or copyrighted. The future is wide open to us. And we have the right to do what we will with our inventions.

Isn't that the essence of Hike Your Own Hike?

I might not necessarily make the same decisions as someone else, but I'm not that person's conscience, parent, sibling, or child, so that person's decision is entirely his own and so are the consequences. A perfect example of HYOH.

I do understand your frustration, yet I encourage you to "let it go" and not let it influence your life. I've had similar frustrations with the way things happen -- small companies being taken over by larger companies and not letting the public know -- companies going overseas to "assemble" items made in the USofA because it's less expensive -- clothing made everywhere except the USofA. Trying to "Buy American" isn't as easy now as it was 25 years ago and that frustrates me and makes me into a more careful customer.

There's a Country Song by Bucky Covington http://tinyurl.com/35pb6c which states in the refrain:
It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world
http://tinyurl.com/3ah5m5

And it was. I'm 63 in another couple of weeks. I can't compare "today" to "when I was young" because just about everything is different now. Not always an improvement, but totally different. Just like my grandparents who were children before there were automobiles, electricity in every home, and indoor plumbing, yet who lived to fly on a jet plane in their senior years. Who would have ever thought that life (as we know it) would change so dramatically in the course of 75 years or so? From horse and buggy through Henry Ford's assembly line to autos made using robotics in one lifetime.

My best advice is to just "go with the flow" and enjoy the ride. Swimming upstream will definitely wear you down physically and mentally.

Take care of yourself (and I mean that sincerely), Coosa[/color] <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />