>If we're going to bother questioning trends, shouldn't we be aiming to be questioning in a way that is different from everyone else who has questioned before us?

That would be nice.

> it would appear that previous questioning has failed to have an impact.

Just because something does not cause a change, does not mean it does not have an impact. Maybe, the impact is that it is keeping things from getting worse...In this case, question like these may help to balance the influence of "trends" and helps us to maintain perspective...