Well, if one goes to a true wilderness area, like the George Washington National Forest, which is across the Shenandoah Valley from Skyline Drive, there is little danger of semis spoiling a mood. I am not into roughing it to that extent, personally. The cabins I go to are equipped with electricity and plumbing, after all. But something wilder is available, if desired.
The propensity to build housing "too close together", and particularly to build multi- unit housing, is not only a matter of economics---- people need affordable housing---- but it also saves us from a sprawl that would take over the landscape, so I am not sure why you object. There is a fundamental disagreement here, I think. I do not consider the contraptions of modern man a "taint", I consider them a blessing. I thank God that I was born in a century that knew indoor plumbing, electricity, mass media, automobiles, computers, and all of the other inventions and conveniences of industrial civilization. They are the pre- condition of lifting the masses out of drudgery, and permitting even those of modest income to live in relative comfort.
Apart from being an Easterner (born in George Washington University hospital, down the street from the White House), there are other reasons for having a strong conviction of this. For example, one of my brothers has severe cerebral palsy. He cannot walk, and has spastic muscles in his arms and hands, limiting his freedom of action. Yet he gets around all over DC in his electric wheelchair, on public transportation, and using accommodations mandated by the Americans With Disabilities Act. In the winter, when it is harder to get around, he spends a lot of time on his computer corresponding with friends around the country. If he were out in the country, he wouldn't have even the modicum of autonomy that he now has, and if he were living in a pre- industrial century, he would practically have no life....... |
