Each of us, no doubt, has something that stirs us up and makes us despair at ‘what the world has come to’. For me it’s this – (if I had an image of it, I’d post it, but it’s not hard to see in your minds-eye) – a catapault, moulded in slick, faux-wood plastic, shrink-wrapped and brightly coloured, hailing from an enormous continent famed for the production of such fripparies and for sale in our (and no doubt your) local supermarket. It’s cheap enough, and saves every young boy (or girl) the ‘trouble’ of finding a ‘Y’ shaped stick and attaching their own strip of rubber. What a marvelous step foward it represents and what a great example of the value of free trade agreements. It makes me cringe! Guess it’s the Luddite in me.
Yes, devices like that bring to mind Adam Smiths idea of the ‘endless pusuit of unnecessary things’
Must get one of those for my son. I’m determined to crush every vestige of his creativity. Has someone made pre-chewed spitballs yet? Disinfected mud for rubbing into knees?