Metaphor/ Rambling on the American Frontier

     The American frontier, along with all of the "back to the roots" movements that relate to it, is perfection. Perfection, of course, in the sense that there is just the right amount of imperfection. It is the culmination of all the right thoughts taken from Western ideals mashed onto an untamed landscape with limitless potential. Being able to settle your own land in the middle of nowhere and start a home on it from nothing is something that doesn't happen that much these days. There's so much work that's put into it: Building a house, growing food, defending the property, trading with other settlers. It requires an immense amount of work, but that's what makes it worth living. By founding a home on the American frontier, you're devoting your entire existence to a way of living.
     What adds infinitely more to that way of life is when it's coupled with the "greatest hits" of modern technology. Having a limited amount of electricity wired to your house, perhaps just enough to supply entertainment (video games, electric instruments, etc.) and lighting, could be accomplished with a solar/wind power combination. Heating could be installed geothermal-ly, and refrigeration could be possible with cellars. At the absolute most, a phone line/fiber optic cable could be hooked in for communications purposes. A car may be needed for commuting to the nearest town to make enough money for taxes and entertainment, and there are perfectly capable cars that can be bought without the worry of constant gas-guzzling. What this boils down to in the end is living an existence that combines old, natural living with the "essentials" of the current age.