probably. I may be missing something here but i really don't see any irony or conflict in using practices or ideas that work well irregasrdless of the time frame they originate in. As an examomple why should eating home baked bread mean you can't use a computer?

"Simple life" is an oxymoron when refering to the olden days. It was darned hard work.

It's not about giving it up. It's about being prepared when it all goes away.

Robin is absolutely correct because we didn't have all these new fangled, electric or gasolene powered machines to aleviate the hard work and drugery. See my comments in the thread on Washing Clothes By Hand."

I just think it's funny that people want to do things that way again but keep their entertainment gadgets.

Hey Ted maybe we should just go back before the wheel was invented and try live off the land. That would be really hard but hey why not.

I guess it's all about perspective. You've gotta define "simple" first, obviously.... I mean, what's simpler: doing work that is directly connected to your livelihood, or running the rat race so that you can have a few hours of "life" after work and maybe on the weekends? I don't know, but it's been a very easy question for me to answer.

I grew up working on a horse farm because I've got horses in the blood but my parents couldn't afford a dang thing. Frankly, every bit of that was quality -- and a far greater quality than what all my friends (whose parents paid for everything) were experiencing. Yes, shoveling horse poop 7 days a wk was hard, and working with the vet was sometimes rather gross, and bucking hay was often downright excruciating, but I wouldn't have traded one single instant of it.

In my adult life I've had a variety of non-farm jobs, and -- despite the work ethic I gained from working on that horse farm -- every one of them has ultimately been a matter of just watching the clock so that I can get back to my real life. For me, the "simple life" is about work that is worth doing for a living. It's about not buying into the social brainwashing that tells us we have to spend money on a bajillion inane & unnecessary things, and have all the latest doodads and wear the latest style clothes and get new cars every 3 yrs. It's about reusing and repairing stuff rather than just tossing it in the can & running to the store to get a new one. It's about being self-sufficient to the greatest extent possible.

As to your other point, about the entertainment "gadgets" -- most of the farmers & homesteaders I've met or communicated with don't have televisions. But even the Amish recognize the wisdom in using the products of certain modern technological advances, though in a very discerning way. It's not necessarily prudent to turn a cheek to tools that are genuinely practical. We're not all looking for simple convenience.

The computer is not just a playtoy, though, it's not just "entertainment"... to dismiss its usefulness is rather hasty and malapropos. The computer is a viable source of information -- of very quick, very accessible information -- and for some it is also an important connection to the outside world. In addition, it subjects us to a diversity of views, and challenges our own, which furthers our growth as intelligent, thoughtful, circumspect human beings. (one hopes, lol)

I understand & agree with your frustrations to some extent, but I think it's all about perspective.

Funny topic.

Ruby is right, it is all about perspective. What made it "the simple life" was the fact that you pretty much had one simple choice: work your butt into the ground or starve. And another part of the simple life was trying every which way to come up with some work-saving gizmo so perhaps you might get a few minutes rest.

A farmer I knew grew up plowing with horses. The simple life for him started when they finally bought a John Deere. Before that, it was just a hard life.

My computer sits here because it is the tool of my livelyhood. It is also my main means of communication. And in a way, I guess it is a means of entertainment, the same way a "simple-life" farmer's horse was when he rode it into town and stopped to BS with his buddies. Entertainment value aside, the horse was still a valuable tool.

So no, I see no irony in having an internet cable coming into my home, connected to my electrically powered computer. The simplicity in my life comes in other forms in which I can minimize my impact on the planet.

I wonder what the cutoff point is where the simple life begins. 1920s rural America? That was simple, except for that depression thing. Or the 1800s westward expansion? Now there was a time when we had it all, no electricity or computers, until the telegraph came along to ruin it. Maybe the bronze age if you pass on all that smelting of copper. Real men hunt with stone, don't they?