The_Amish

The Amish: A Living Museum in American Culture Throughout the history of Christianity, a myriad of unique groups have prevailed under different aspects, be it the people, their struggles, their impact on the world, and various other things. All are interesting in their own right, and their regard in this respect has only increased as American history developed. Among the religious pilgrims fleeing to the new world were the Amish; and, as they migrated into the new world in the eighteenth century, they created a history and lifestyle that is perhaps more curious and intriguing than any other group in the entirety of Christianity. Culturally, they are undoubtedly unique, and their lifestyle is just as varied and complex as any other modern, contemporary society. Echoing the world of the past in many ways, these unassuming people are rich in a lifestyle that the world today has all but forgotten about. The history of the Amish is, like any religious background, rife with controversy and conflict. As America was progressing along as a more and more independent nation, it was generally hailed as a safe haven for people seeking religious sanctuary. This was imperative during the time period both in regards to the development of our country, and, in regards to the Amish, the incredible religious turmoil that was tumultuous throughout Europe. War, poverty and sickness, and the ever-going religious persecution were all key points that caused a rapid immigration to the colonial states; the Amish, named after Jacob Amman, were among these migrants. And, like many other immigrants, regardless of religion, they moved as groups; they lived amongst each other in societal sects in order to, essentially, better their lives. Today, Michigan, among other states, is known to house a strong Amish community, and Pennsylvania is well-known as the “central” locality of the Amish. If one were to trace the history back several hundred years, the same could be said about Pennsylvania; since the inception of the Amish in our nation, they have generally lived in the majority there, a few obvious exceptions withholding. However, although the history of the localities of the Amish is certainly simple enough to trace, the rift in their beliefs begins along the same time, and greatly influenced their existence. It is relatively easy to exemplify, yet profoundly related to their history. The Mennonites and the Amish were essentially the same group of people, founded on nearly identical ideals. The Old Amish as we know them today are a simple, technologically ignorant group of people, and they have remained this way since the eighteen-hundreds. The Mennonites wanted to address the growing complexity of our nation, the industrial revolution and increasing reliance on technology in a more dependent way. While these ideas were transgressing in their communities, the vast majority of the Amish joined the Mennonites, being called suitably the Amish Mennonites. Likewise, the remaining folk were left to live in a similar fashion as they always had; thus, the separation that occurred between the two created the intriguing people we know of today as the Amish. While the Mennonites and the Amish retained little difference from one another for a few decades even after their separation, it became apparent that they were blatantly unique as the world progressed. As the culture of our world has changed rapidly over the past several centuries, utilizing technological and psychological advancements to further the development of humanity, time has seemingly ceased in the Amish eye. While their lifestyles do not literally mirror the ancient colonial and early American historical time periods, they do hold a plethora of qualities that are so out of place today that they are seen as archaic. Literally every aspect of Amish life, in fact, can be analyzed and shown to be “old-fashioned”: education, religious worship and funerals, food, work habits, clothing, discipline, and almost every other lifestyle is notable for having an old-fashioned twinge. It is important to realize that “old-fashioned” does not necessarily connote irrelevance or a lack of importance, however, for the Amish serve valuable roles in the larger embodiment of society as well as strong reliance of each other in their own culture. Several ideologies are predominantly spread throughout Amish life, ranging from religion to the opportunity to experience the outside world; these are what may be considered the foundation of modern Amish society. It is important to note, above all else, that religion is infused greatly throughout all aspects of Amish life. There is nothing in an Amish community and individual’s life that does not hold some sort of connection with their religious beliefs. Going along hand-in-hand with this, they also have a rather peculiar set of individual values, especially compared to the lifestyles of most Americans today. Rising above all of their oddities and values is their emphasis on self pride, or rather the control of it. The Amish are, by principle, people who have almost no pride or other haughty exemplification, living as simply and humbly as possible. It would not be a stretch to proclaim their people’s humility as some of the most outstanding in the world today. They exemplify this self control in a surprising amount of ways, to the point that speculators may be convinced that they are eccentric; while this is especially true of the Old Amish, it still applies in various degrees to them all. For example, the Amish people will rarely, if ever, sing. This is not hyperbole; they are specifically warned against singing due to its relation to pride, emphasis on competition, and other reasons. On rare occasions, of course, the Amish may break out into hymnal choruses during religious ceremonies, though this is rare and does not even occur at funerals; they also take an extended amount of time to sing the songs, and sing them in a very low tone. Oddly, teenage Amish may participate in “sings” on certain Sundays, where the boys and girls take turns quietly singing their favorite hymns. This is, of course, a rather odd thing when taken into account our society, but nonetheless it still persists today. Funerals are another function that retain this humble lifestyle. Instead of using churches or other religious congregations, funerals are held at the deceased family’s home; when they are buried, a simple marker, even made of wood in some circles, is used to promote their humility. In fact, the Amish do not even have churches in most situations, because the bible indicates that God does not live in manmade temples of worship. However, just because their pride is strongly withheld, the Amish still show great attention to their religious beliefs. They are, for instance, baptized several times in their lives; they meet at the same neighbor’s houses for almost the entirety of their lives, sharing services every other week for the entire Sunday. In a similar manner to the pride issue, they do not quote the bible often because it is showing much devoutness to the lord. Obviously, the Amish live by a very strict religious code that influences their lives greatly. The essence of their life is, fundamentally, religion. One of the most intriguing details of Amish life is their hold upon tradition and how they shun almost all modern lifestyles. As mentioned earlier, the Amish rarely sing and have strict religious principles, but this is not even the beginning of their culture. Most of these following habits are characteristic of, like everything else mentioned in this paper, the Old Amish. At first, some facts may be commonly known, such as their banishment of electricity and machines on their farms. The exclusion of these two things, otherwise necessary to outside society, was decided over one hundred years ago. They have a rather unique make of food, such as the famous “Shoofly pie,” and often are known for their furniture and bakery. It is not so universal to know that the Amish do not condone their selling of Amish furniture or their baked goods, however; in fact, they are somewhat coerced into doing it, as the farming industry is dying and they have little other choice in many cases. Also, the males in the Amish community are known for having long beards, something of a motif for them in life; many people do not know that the beard is a symbol of their marriage and they only may grow one after becoming married. And, if a married Amish person decides to ride in their wagon, it must be a closed wagon; single individuals may ride in open carriages, however. Another common belief is that the Amish wear old-fashioned clothing, which is mostly true. In fact, some Amish men don’t even wear buttons, as they feel they are a sign of vanity; instead, a simple hook is used to fasten clothing. In addition to this, Amish education ends when children are fourteen, as they do not “trust” books or education. Despite this, many of them are incredibly intelligent, and almost all Amish folk speak three languages: Pennsylvania Dutch, a “Watered-down” Germanic dialect, High German, and of course, English. Crime is very rare in Amish communities, as individuals and sometimes entire families can be excommunicated and shunned for their bad behavior. Indeed, the Amish have a strange cocktail of habits that are far detached from most other individual’s experiences, and certainly odd when considering our own. The Amish, however, are not entirely constrained to follow their culture’s historic and strict path, as noted in the previous paragraph, and free will has a definite role in their society. One of the renowned experiences in Amish life is what is known as Rumspringa. To describe this as anything besides a life-changing experience is an understatement, as it literally defines what is to become of an Amish teenager at the most crucial part of their lives. The event basically consists of the archetypal “coming-of-age” ideology, and entails Amish teens to go out and experience the world in a completely free manner before they make their decision on whether to continue the path of the solemn Amish church, or segregate themselves from their roots and join contemporary culture. Obviously, this profound choice is not an easy one, and is perhaps the most important occurrence in Amish life. As imaginable, Amish children under the age of sixteen have no direct experience of the outside world and culture, aside from the occasional juxtaposition of the two. The Amish don’t have cars, electricity, video games, drugs, alcohol, music, and a myriad of other things, stupefying to those outside of their culture; as such, the Amish children likewise will have no direct experience or knowledge of these things. Rumspringa is, essentially, their gateway to the otherwise concealed lifestyles of their surrounding society, and it entails the youth to go out into the world for numerous reasons. For example, most Amish teens have a good paying job with enough money saved up to buy anything they may want, and this is a perfect time for temptation to strike. Also, like teenagers of any culture, the Amish hope that during this period they will find their soul-mate, in their case one whom they can settle down with later in life. These life choices, as well as many other coming-of-age ideas, amount to the revelatory decision entitled to them. At this point, they will decide which way to live their lives. However, Rumspringa is not infallible: parents often help make this decision for them, often using bribes and convincing them that traditional Amish life is the right way to live. Overall, 85 to 95 percent of all Amish who go through the period of Rumspringa decide to join the church. The Devil’s Playground is a very interesting film that is based on the culture of the Amish people, and it shows rather adequately how the stage of Rumspringa affects their lives. During the movie, there is one character in particular that proved to have many of the effects happen to them that Amish teens potentially go through. His name was Faron, and he goes through many life-changing experiences during this time, as previously noted. To name a few of the more prevalent concerns, he gets himself into a partying lifestyle and, eventually, goes through many drug problems. This often happens to Amish teens at this point in their life, not unlike other teenagers, due to the main goal of Rumspringa being to have fun and get a little taste of the world to see if they like what they have been missing, and perhaps choose to emigrate onto that new world. Faron also gains many friends and meets other Amish going through the same thing, which is an important aspect of the event. Faron has many girlfriends as well, exemplifying the idea of finding a partner, and eventually finds one who is Amish. Faron has a lot of experience of what this life would be about and what was in store for him, a perfect window into what Rumspringa is about; in doing this, he also encounters many dramatic events, all typically viewed negatively. He eventually does the right thing, and made the decision to get help for his addictions. This leads him to choosing a lifestyle of simplicity and humility, the Amish life. As a film, The Devil’s Playground shows what may potentially occur with Amish teens during this time, highlights both the intense emotion involved as well as giving a definite view to people otherwise unaware of the Amish culture. And, after the Amish children come in contact with the world outside, the title of the movie dictates exactly how the Amish may view outside society: a temptation of the most malevolent. It is, quite simply, an experience very few outside of Amish culture can say they understand. It would be hard to say that the Amish are not without their inconsistencies. While the way they live their lives often avoids the general progression of the rest of society, they must acknowledge it in certain ways to continue living their lives, or sometimes for even embrace it for benefit. For instance, many Amish folk utilize pay telephones, yet are forbidden to have them in their homes or communities. Sometimes shoppers in areas with large Amish communities may find hitching posts in malls or stores, indicative of them shopping there, too. Also, many Amish communities may use gasoline powered machines for farm care, and sometimes even non-electric appliances in the household. The Amish do not believe that technology is evil, contrary to popular belief; quite the opposite, many Amish meet several times a year to determine what is permitted to be used in their community. The Amish are, without a doubt, some of the most interesting people in our Nation today. Be it their history, their way of life, or just the way they look and act, most people cast a curious eye upon them, questions running in their minds. The Amish, just like all people, live by a basic code of life; this code has changed very little in multiple centuries. Whether it is their utilization of technology, their religious beliefs, or their emphasis on family life, among other things, they are a devout and humble group of people. In the entirety of our country, very few communities can show such devotion, such dedication, to living their lives as the Amish do. The Amish people are, in essence, a living museum: they are the culmination of historical balance, religious faithfulness and idealism, and simplicity, changed very little over the course of history. Knowing how they live their lives, respect and attentiveness is all but due to them, as they silently continue their humble existence. SOURCES: “American Folklore and Legend.” Reader’s Digest, Pleasantview NY 19 “Devil’s Playground”, 2002, Stick Figure Productions. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5400904.stm Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural, McGraw-Hill, Copyright 2008. Religions in Practice, John R. Bowen, Copyright 2008, Pearson education, Inc. Rumspringa to be or not to be Amish, Shachtman-Tom, Copyright 2006, Stick Figure Production.