I am not advocating a return to the status quo, by any means. There were injustices and inequities and all sorts of problems with the old system. But I don't think that a sense of wonderment or a sense of spirituality were amongst those problems. People know right and wrong. They need a reason to care.
Ye gods. When we as a culture start openly promoting the notion of believing certain things to be true (read: religion) based on the pleasantries and conveniences they entail, that is when I truly begin to worry.
Plenty of individuals waddle through life holding the "from mud to mud and nothing else really matters" as generally true, and still live happy, healthy, and fulfilled. Life is what you make, meaning is what you bring...ad nauseam.
We've managed to extend the speed of light from a highway speed limit to well above the established norm...I think there's plenty of wonderment left in the mud.
And...there was a topic here somewhere...*rustle*
Trends such as this one always give one pause, but the widening of use of leases, rentals, etc., should be viewed more as a widening of opportunities rather than a harbinger of Corporate Doom (Deathmatch disabled). My family has rented, leased and purchased a number of different items at various times, dependent on the needs, desires and abilities of the time. So long as outright purchase remains a viable option in the physical world, I tend to view it as a positive.
Slashdot Mirror
I am not advocating a return to the status quo, by any means. There were injustices and inequities and all sorts of problems with the old system. But I don't think that a sense of wonderment or a sense of spirituality were amongst those problems. People know right and wrong. They need a reason to care.
Ye gods. When we as a culture start openly promoting the notion of believing certain things to be true (read: religion) based on the pleasantries and conveniences they entail, that is when I truly begin to worry.
Plenty of individuals waddle through life holding the "from mud to mud and nothing else really matters" as generally true, and still live happy, healthy, and fulfilled. Life is what you make, meaning is what you bring...ad nauseam.
We've managed to extend the speed of light from a highway speed limit to well above the established norm...I think there's plenty of wonderment left in the mud.
And...there was a topic here somewhere...*rustle*
Trends such as this one always give one pause, but the widening of use of leases, rentals, etc., should be viewed more as a widening of opportunities rather than a harbinger of Corporate Doom (Deathmatch disabled). My family has rented, leased and purchased a number of different items at various times, dependent on the needs, desires and abilities of the time. So long as outright purchase remains a viable option in the physical world, I tend to view it as a positive.