Hey Tom,
You have a well presented point, but I think you will find that most of the people who post on this board who call themselves re enactors, are the kind who do the total immersion, that is, they eat authentic food, and shun any modern items that would make the night a little more comfortable. In this area, a living history is usually presented for the benefit of an audience. My uniforms are normally displayed on maniquins (also called dummies) and I often attend the display in period dress, and I often hear people say, "look, that dummy moves" and my wife laughs.
There are two reasons I do not do the total immersion living history (or re enacting), I can not bring myself to counter a lifetime of teaching that one does not point a firearm at anyone unless you are prepaired to take their life, and there is no venue in my area. If I lived in the east, I would be very tempted to retrain myself.
Best wihses
Gus