Yeah, I think people over and underestimate the value of rural public transit. The underestimating is that people vastly overestimate rurality. Small cities whose residents think of themselves as rural often would benefit from public transit, though trams may be a better option.
But the fucking boonies, places that never had a train or tram but they used to just have horses, those places benefit from personal vehicles. I wish those places would recognize that they’re a small minority of the population and infrastructure shouldn’t prioritize their ability to not take transit once they get into the city, but they do need accommodation
The south was doomed because a significant portion of their labor hated them. They also had terrible industrial capacity, no international legitimacy, and no asymmetric advantage.
It’s a lot more like when Cambodia invaded Vietnam than when America did.