many of the fads ... like "Zombies" and "Prepping" are unfortunately tied to commercialism. Same thing for Y2K - used as a vehicle to stir up hype and then sell products. a shame.

Chaosmagnet ... I you look closely at my earlier discussion ... I only mentioned "freedom". I did not say anything about political parties or views, and indeed I didn't even mention specific countries or types of government. That is NOT because I am hiding a subliminal message that favors one American party over another. It IS because I have noticed the same concerns across a broad variety of nations in the world today - with a wide variety of different political systems.

If you truly want to be "free" ... perhaps the solution is to become a goat herder in the Caucasus Mountains, or a hillbilly in Arkansas. The only problem - then you ARE a goat herder or a hillbilly :-)

dT