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Who Are The Amish Essay Research Paper

Who Are The Amish Essay, Research Paper


Who are the Amish


If you are interested the values and lifestyle of the


nineteenth century, here is a great example: The


Amish, is a group of religious people who live in


settlements in 22 states and (Ontario), Canada. The


roots of the Amish come from Mennonite community, a


part of early Anabaptist Movement in Europe, which


took place at the time of the Reformation. At that


time, this movement were seen as heretical and the


members of the movement oppressed and people were


cruelly put to death by both Catholics and


Protestants. As a result, of this oppression from


larger religious groups and having a different point


of view in terms of interpretations of Christianity,


the Amish fled to the rural areas and isolated


themselves from the others. This separation from the


others can be the best answer to why the Amish have


insisted on being different from the contemporary


world. The Amish continue emphasizing the basic values


of the nineteenth century. Their distinctions from


other minorities in America are their different


beliefs, community structure and their simplistic


lifestyles.


Until 1972 the Amish were forced to complete


high-school, at which point the supreme court


overturned this ruling to allow them to discontinue


after elementary school. Their lack of faith in the


American school system was made them to want withdraw


their children from school. They feared that U.S. high


school would spoil the children’s peaceful, simple


tendencies and push them into crime and violence.


Instead of public high school they have their own


schools, staffed with teachers from Amish backgrounds.


In the words of researcher John Andrew Hosstetler,


“The Amish school has generally been successful in


preparing young people to be honest, hardworking and


conscientious adults, capable of earning a living,


raising Christian family, and contributing to the


Amish community.” (29). Most Amish schools today have


one room and one teacher for all eight grades, and


English is the language of instruction.


Unlike the U.S. culture the Amish have their own


small communities. They live and die only within this


community without mingling with any others.


Individuality is of no concern to the Amish. They


become part of a whole community when they are


baptized, and remain so until death. The two most


important rules of the Amish demand that they are


separated from the rest of the world and that they


must be obedient to everything the church asks of


them. These two rules bring heavy restrictions on


them. Their strong ties to family and community limit


their interaction and participation in modern American


society. They do have to work among people outside of


their religions, for example, many in dairy factories,


but they do avoid working with any kind of modern


electronic machinery. They fallow the same


restrictions at home. For instance, most Amish


households do not have a central heating system, but


instead heat only the living room. This practice


gathers everyone in one room of the house and applies


to the importance they give to family and community.


Ruth Hoover Seitc states that “Almost all members of


the Amish community help each other to build a barn


and nothing is prefabricated. The entire structure is


built on location. In a single day.” (99). They try to


stay together and help each other with problems so


that interaction with the outside world is minimized.


The Amish still insists on rejecting modern


technology. For instance, they use gas lamps instead


electric lights and they reject using highly


sophisticated farming equipment, the Amish prefer


horse and cattle. “Kerosene lamps or pressurized lamps


are commonly used for general lighting. Ironically,


Amish farmers who do not use electricity may have to


put with massive power lines cut g through their


farms, ” says Merle Good in his book “Who are the


Amish?” (93). In addition to this the Amish children


play with hand-made toys. From a functionalist


perspective it can be said that the Amish are for the


most part isolated from American culture. They have


their own strict beliefs, their own churches and their


own communities. Family structure is more important to


them than the role they play in society. Amish people


refuse to be slaves of technology in the modern world.


Their basic principles in living are simplicity and


self-sufficiency, which are also factors in isolating


themselves from modern American culture.


The old order Amish gather to worship together, but


following a belief left from the years of exile and


torture in Europe, where they met in caves and


forests, they do not congregate in a church. Instead


Amish are separated from the modern Americans who


gather and pray in churches, although they have one


similarity in that they both study the same holly


book, the Bible. Bill Simpson points out that “The


Bible remains the central book of the Amish people and


they view the Bible as the guide for faith and life.”


(59).


The Amish mostly support themselves with agriculture.


They are very successful at farming, which is their


way of living according to their basic value,


simplicity. Mark Tompkins writes “The majority of all


Amish families earn their living by farming. Corn,


tobacco and alfalfa are favorite crops. ” (19). The


Amish have little impact on the American economy. Some


of them do work in regular jobs, but the majorities


are farmers who support their own community rather


than contributing to the American society. Stephen


Schiff reports that “Amish volunteers help prepare


meat to be canned and shipped overseas through


Mennonite Central Community. This worldwide service


agency distributes many millions of dollars of aid and


service to countries of all political affiliations,


‘in the name of Christ.’ (73). They sometimes organize


auctions that are open to the general public, but this


is the only time they interact with others than their


own community.


The Amish do pay taxes, but they do not receive any


social service relief or medical aid. They do not take


any kind of assistance from the government because


they do not value modern comforts in any way. It could


also be said that patriotism, which is an important


part of American culture, is not an issue for Amish.


Although they were required to join the army during


WWI, they were mostly stationed in offices and medical


facilities due to their strict ideas about peace, not


harming others and not bearing arms. Willis Thompson


and George Hanson, two such Amish people who survived


the war and are now living in Olivet Michigan as


professors in the local college, refused to take arms


during the war. They were as a result put into medical


troops to serve out their duties. In this way they


were able to maintain their personal beliefs without


jeopardizing the good of the country.


Amish as a way of expressing their faith, wear simple


clothes. While the American have been the slaves of


clothing daily fashion, the Amish continue to wear


their traditional clothes. For example, unlike the


mainstream women, Amish women wear modest dresses with


long sleeves and full skirts covered with a cape and


apron. On their heads, they wear a prayer bonnet; the


white one for marrieds, and the black one for singles.


Amish women also never use jewelry. This sharp


difference in terms of clothes is also seen between


Amish men and the mainstream men. Amish men and boys


wear dark colored suits, black socks, loose-fitting


trousers, solid-colored shirts, and black coats and


hats.


Almost all Amish are trilingual. They can speak a


regional dialect of German, High German, and English.


At home, they use the regional dialect. High German is


their worship language. English is only used when they


faced with anyone who is not Amish. They use the


dialect of Germany, when they speak to each other.


In deed as a result of having some tragic


experiences, the Amish have preferred to isolate


themselves from the modern world. They reject


modernity because they think that modernity can


destroy their simplicity and solidarity. However, it


is not possible to say that the Amish seem stuck in


history. Although they look like they stepped out of


the rural nineteenth century, in fact, they change.


They definitely are not stuck anywhere. Before


accepting new innovations, they examine them


carefully. If the innovations do not assist in keeping


their simplicity and their togetherness, they probably


will reject them. Unfortunately, in order to survive,


this unique culture has had to make many compromises.


With the advancement of technology and the growth of


population they are beginning to face many problems,


such as the loss of farmland which is so vital to


their survival. Tourism and housing developments have


contributed a lot to this problem. The younger Amish


generation is showing signs of wanting to the leave


the community, which is an act that could have many


effects on the next generation of Amish. The chances


of survival for the Old Amish Order against the modern


U.S. culture are not very strong. Sadly they might


give in to the pressure eventually and go with the


easy flow of modern society, and this will be the end


of a magnificently unique Old World establishment.

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