CD,
your post is pretty much what I've been thinking for a long time, not only here but just about everywhere these days. I have to admit that I may well be one of the more pessimistic folks around here, based on what I see happening in Europe since I came back to real life aviation last year.
Nevertheless, I took the plunge and bought an airplane of all things, because I could not leave the victory to the bureaucrats to scare me out of my passion for flying. I now spent a whole load of money getting an engine overhaul done, so I do intend to fly the next 2000 hours with this my machine.
I think a lot of us here have genuine concerns about our very future in aviation. We are under the most severe threat ever since aviation was born a bit more than 100 years ago. Sometimes I sit back and think to myself that with the attitude displayed by the regulators and governments (particularly in Europe I might add hastily) a lot of things would never have happened.
- The Wright Brothers would never have left the ground.
- Bleriot might have swam across the Channel but not flown.
- Lindbergh would have been stopped before he ever tried to do his historic flight, his aircraft would not ever withstand current demands on all sorts of regulations.
- The Berlin Airlift would not be possible, as Berlin has closed down two of the historic fields already and will close a third.
By all means finish your PPL and follow your dream. The sooner the better. I reckon, all the flights we have done in the past are all that nobody can take away from us in the future. Everything else, and it is you bet as good as anyone's.