Neil:
Excellent article! We have lost our connection with nature and the natural world. On the other hand technology is something we (the less skilled and uninitiated) need in order to survive in this now unfamiliar world. We would freeze without polyester and never get back without GPS. As for the genteel, I'm not so sure that is a "class" of people as much as people with "class". We all bitterly complain about the abusers. They are no ladies or gentlemen.