Alan -- "I have long feared that the industrial revolution effectively severed many people from their folk culture. I also fear that the ensuing vacuum was so filled with the arrival of mass media, that it may never be able to effectively re-establish itself. I fervently hope I am wrong."

Alas, I fear you're spot on right, my friend. Thomas Hardy was a great chronicler of the time when the beginnings of industrialization first broke up the rural village life in England and caused folks to travel outside of their very limited circles.

Since then, the trend has continued right through what's now called globalization. We could debate for a long while whether "progress" is a good thing or bad, but it is a fact of existence. Modern, instant communication technologies and the mass media will continue to homogenize local traditions. Exciting fusions may lead to general uniformity -- who knows?

Let us cherish the collective knowledge, memory, and wisdom here at Mudcat as well as in our own spheres for as long as we can.

Cheers,
Michael