i thnink a lot of what you say has a lot to do whith mindset......as a nation at war people are intrested in what they might need in the event of a catastrophy.such as; what will i and my family need to sustian ourselves in the event of attack,earthquake ,tornado,flood etc.....a people prepard frees up valuble resorces to those who go unprepard.......this appears to be the prevailing mindset here in this nation......thus the consumerism for equipment........V.......