Appalachian Culture,What is it, When is it real???????

I was wondering the other day about one of the questions that Rachael brought up the first day of class. She said we'd be discussing if Appalachian culture exists at all, and is it something that someone has to live first hand through experience, or can we just learn about it. I have no answer to this question; I think that the only right answers might be subjective. Maybe even a "I think therefore I am type of thing" A Piece of me feels that as long there are people interested in learning about the music and literature, etc... that it is real because information is becoming incorporated and part of an individuals identity; but another piece of me feels that the true Appalachian identity has been killed by modern society (and can possibly only be saved by a great economic global crisis, where people will adapt to lives that are isolated in small communal atmospheres again). I feel that the genuine "mountain men" who truly incorporated Appalachia lived self-sufficiently (like Indians, since that's who taught them survival in the Appalachia's), and in complete harmony with the resources and environment around them. I feel like that associating my identity with Appalachian culture can only go so far because living in the modern world that is a greater part of my identity. In all reality everyone in our class has more in common with college kids in Japan, Western Europe, Australia, and any 1st world country, than we do with any true mountain people. And likewise the "genuine carries of Appalachian culture" have more in common with the isolated, communal villagers in the 3rd world than they do with any of us. Basically I feel like we can only have hobbies and nastalgia, which puts limits on how we decipher our identities.