Well in class today, we are talking about immigration of those from around the world to the US. we had a great discussion and the kids enjoyed the discussion as well. we started asking questions about how the amish live and what we thought about it. it all stemmed from now knowing whether they use friges or not. so i did some wikipedia and thought that all of this was very interesting. i really want to go hang w/ them for summer or sometime. maybe a weekend would suffice. these are some counter cultural communities.
** Single Amish men are clean-shaven; if they are available to court women, they will put a dent in their hat. Married men grow a beard. In some more traditional communities, a man will grow a beard after he is baptized
** Moustaches are not allowed, because they are associated with the military, and because they give opportunity for vanity
** Rather than immediately taking up housekeeping, the newlywed couple will spend several weekends visiting the homes of friends and relatives who attended the wedding.
** The marriage ceremony itself may take several hours, followed by a community reception that includes a banquet, singing and storytelling
** There are Old Order communities in 21 states; Ohio has the largest population (55,000), followed by Pennsylvania (39,000) and Indiana (37,000).
** It is also the proximate cause for rejecting education beyond the eighth grade, especially speculative study that has little practical use for farm life but may awaken personal and materialistic ambitions
** The Amish dislike the telephone because it interferes with their separation from the world: it brings the outside world into the home, it is an intrusion into the privacy and sanctity of the family, and it interferes with social community by eliminating face-to-face communication (but some use it for out going calls...)
** Church members do not join the military, apply for Social Security benefits, take out insurance or accept any form of financial assistance from the government.
7 comments:
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loved it.
one of the girls on my team was raised in the Amish church until she was three. A lot of her extended family is still Amish. We always ask her about Amish stuff.
p.s.
it was good getting to talk to you that bit when Jess had me on speaker phone!
it's settled. my wedding is going to have time set aside for storytelling.
that was really interesting!
thanks bryan, for the lesson.
i absolutely love the amish. a lot of my dad's side is still amish back in iowa and pennsylvania - makes for really interesting family reunions! it's definitely on my list to visit them for a length of time.
really, what would life be like if we discerned as a community what kind of technology we did (and didn't) want to interrupt our lives?
Great stuff Bryan... there really is something about them Amish.
I heard a story that Amish could go into a bank and "sign" a 150,000 dollar loan with a handshake... the reason: the bank knows that if they do not pay it their community will...
Anyways... good stuff.
Again, thanks for introducing me to Ivan. Tell him I said hi!
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