Seems to me that folk music and all that it entails is something very special to us.
Once bitten you are bitten for life and it really means something special to us.
Like Sailor Ron has said the true essence of folk music "is hard to describe but you KNOW it when you hear it". How true that is.
It seems to seep into your soul and warms the heart with love and understanding of real and lasting 'culture'. And then you meet many like-minded people who all feel the same way and in many cases become friends and extended 'family' for life.
Sorry to go all poetic and soppy on you but that is how I and most others contributing to this thread feel about it.
Surely this warm glow and satisfaction we all feel about the folk scene and its songs,meanings,atmosphere and comraderie should be celebrated and not derided or apologised for.
After all, we are mere mortals and anything that warms the heart, stimulates mixed emotions and stirs the mind makes our lives richer and nore satisfying than any amount of material possesions or wealth. Well doesn't it?