An "affinity for quality"

This is interesting, once you get past the sort of cultish freakiness aspect of it. The Rockabilly community/lifestyle in the U.S. I can relate to much of what the author is saying: many of us North Americans have a visceral contempt for the "disposable “Made in China” culture" in which we live, and feel somewhat angry that we're forced to participate in it, BECAUSE OUR OWN COUNTRIES NO LONGER MANUFACTURE ANYTHING.

An affinity for quality is a good thing, as is the desire to repair and keep things long-term rather than throwing them away (I always knew "recycling" was 60% scam and 39% It Makes Me Feel Good and Environmentally Holy Whilst Still Embracing a Wasteful Consumerist Lifestyle). 

But this common sense approach to life wasn't confined to the 1950s--it existed through most of human history, probably right up until the 1970s. Indeed it is arguable that the 50s in America (with its burgeoning middle class, plethora of available goods and explosion in manufacturing) exacerbated the Industrial Revolution-spawned consumerism that has led to mental diseases like clutter, hoarding and obsessive-compulsive recycling. To wit: I'd be willing to bet that many, if not most in the Rockabilly community (like the guy in the video at the link) are compulsive collectors. High-quality clutter is still clutter, and hoarding is still hoarding.

However, I sympathize on numerous levels. Vintage stuff makes (many of) us feel warm and fuzzy because it takes us back to a time when we felt safe, happy, carefree, and secure (Translation: home = family = love = God). These Rockabilly folks (like the rest of us) are collectors --and participants in this "community"-- because they are searching for something that will fill their souls.

Well, it's a start.

And yes, Mrs. Beazly, there's a book. 
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