"I have no idea why there is such a lot of passion aroused when the subject of GPS is raised"
I think it is little to do with GPS itself. After all, what do I care how somebody else navigates. The only time I might care is if they get lost, bust some airspace, and then we all end up paying some price for that in the form of restrictions. If everybody else is flying at 600ft AGL (because they want to read the road signs) then so much the better; less traffic where I go
I think the reason it gets people going is the much wider issue of where GA is going, and the picture is bleak on nearly every front.
There is the year on year decline in GA activity. PPL issue is down and down. Already nearly every UK airfield is under constant threat, financially, NIMBY-wise, planning-wise. The GA fleet is 25-30 years old and rotting away happily, with so few new planes coming along.
Flying does have some utility value but only once you get an instrument qualification, and most UK GA airfields have no instrument approaches. So it's down to the leisure element. Most leisure activities are driven by social factors. Yet the airfield social scene is full of anoraks!
That's what gets me going; it's the pretence by the anorak group that all is well, while everything is gradually falling apart. Their anti-GPS anti-anything-modern attitude is just a visible trademark. The crap put out by the CAA just makes the situation "official".
The problem (a decline in GA) is also happening in the USA. However they have some advantages: it's happening a lot slower; GA is more integrated into their economy; there is a lot more money about in it; and they have modern planes (e.g. Cirrus) that sell in enough numbers to offer a hope of replacing the rotting Cessna/Piper fleet.