Driving me crazy

Growing up in small-town Texas, I have discovered it is nearly impossible to survive without a car. Public transportation does not exist over there, and everyone lives miles from town. Sprawl has transformed the habits of people, and made us reliant on cars. We drive from our single-family home through the countryside and into traffic every morning on the way to work, sometimes sitting through a 2 hour commute. Suburbs keep growing and expanding the periphery, and more and more people choose to move in and then work in the city. Why has this become the illustration of the American Dream? Why do people choose to be isolated in their home on their own land and away from society and resources? Is the reliance on the use of cars really how we want live in the future; adding pollution, traffic, heat islands, arterial roads, and parking garages to our cities?