[Ben Overmyer]

Firstly, on topic, I have to address the one thing that most people seem content to ignore: the original poster really, really hates cars.

Question for the OP: If you hate cars, and by logical extension any mechanical vehicle, how in the world are you going to visit anywhere outside of reasonable walking distance?

Now, for the off-topic bit:

I'm a 50-year-old White male, Catholic, Republican, gun-owner, retired-US-military, capitalist and a strong supporter of GEORGE W. BUSH. And I love my country, to boot.

Alright, this tells me a few things about you, sir. First, by capitalizing White, you identify strongly with your race. Not negative in itself, but an odd enough gesture to bear further scrutiny.

Second, you declare yourself proudly to be Republican, but fail to be any more specific than that. The Republican party is comprised of at least three major factions that I can see - the Religious Right, the Economic Conservatives, and the Goldwater Republicans/Libertarians. Which faction do you belong to?

Third, you specify gun-owner as a qualifier. That says to me that you're a card-carrying NRA member and distrustful of anyone who suggests laws to control guns. Correct assumption?

Fourth, you say you're a strong supporter IN ALL CAPS of our current lame-duck President. Fine, you're entitled to your opinion, but why specifically do you support him?

Fifth, you say you love your country, i.e. the U.S. of A. Alright. What about it do you love? A country is an extremely complex thing, comprised of thousands of nuances of culture. It is patently impossible to love all of it, as many of these nuances conflict with each other. So, I say again...what part do you love?

[QatzelOk]

If you hate cars, and by logical extension any mechanical vehicle

That's not a logical extension.

It isn't necessarily the "mechanical vehicle" part of car ownership that is problematic. It is mostly the hyper-consumption and the danger that millions of metal projectiles create.

[Ben Overmyer]

It isn't necessarily the "mechanical vehicle" part of car ownership that is problematic. It is mostly the hyper-consumption and the danger that millions of metal projectiles create.

Define "metal projectiles." If you're referring to the speed at which a large mechanical vehicle travels, then that by definition includes trains, planes, subways, motorcycles, and even bicycles.

If you honestly believe that personal ground travel vehicles are bad, let me know and I'll stop trying to reason with you.

[Dave]

I'm looking for a way to free my life from anti-capitalist claptrap, any ideas?

Really now, most of those suggestions don't free your life from capitalism at all. I can't believe there was no suggestion of, say, barter, survivalism, hard money, etc. The suggestions there seemed more like financial planning advice...