Oh, yes, I know that statement: A knife is just a knife. You can use it as a weapon or you can use it to cut vegetables. The knife is neither evil nor not evil. It's just a knife. In terms of technological advancement, you could say the same thing. In the end, we know that we can use everything in one way or another. The challenge of modernity is that we cause harm with almost everything we do every day. Whether we eat or move from here to there, what we consume is clear to everyone, always has an interaction with the world around us. This creates a kind of feeling of guilt.
In this field of tension of manifold possibilities to achieve an artistic and ethical lifestyle is paved with many obstacles. I observe how people try to escape from this and for example live off the grid, vegan or focus on the family (or the nation) as a retreat. This is contradicted by the global economy, tourism, trade relations, competition. I have read that you have a stance on ownership and I concern that holding on to ownership is a problem in and of itself.
Buddhism is quite clear on this and sees ownership as the attachment to objects, just as the desire for objects is an expression of human suffering. The human shell is not a self-contained system; it is permeable and reacts to outside influences. You cannot completely armor and seal it, the human being would then die. It is similar with owning a piece of land. It is never really yours, no matter if you have acquired it legally. According to Buddhism, nothing really belongs to you, and if you have acquired something, it is not for your pleasure or protection, but to share what you call yours. Buddhism is the only religion that doesn't accumulate worldly possessions, and when a monastery is built, it's a place of community. It is not about self-preservation.
I've digressed a little. ..
RE: "I AM DONNA - and I'm the hammer"