The Amish
The Amish of Pennsylvania have riddled American society since the dawn of the modern era. While rapid new technological changes have greatly altered the shape of modern society, the Amish still cling to their antiquated ways and strong traditions. However, as the Amish continue to remain outside the technological loop that dominates modern earth, they risk the chance of eventually becoming obsolete. As a way to keep their faith, the Amish have slowly began to negotiate the use of electricity, the telephone, automobiles, and farming equipment. In their quest to keep their traditional lifestyle, the Amish have adopted alternatives with respect to power, agriculture, transportation, and communications. For various reasons, both religious and social, electricity is absent from every Amish household in America. Instead, they use bottled gas to light their homes, shops, and to power their appliances. However, there are several small exceptions to their strict rules outlawing electricity. They are allowed to use electricity to power flashing red lights on the back of buggies warning approaching traffic. Electric fences can be used to keep cattle in pastures. The milk in bulk tanks is stirred by elec
Another debate that plagues the Amish community is the use of telephones. Controlled use of the car is a way of keeping faith with tradition while giving enough freedom to maneuver in the large society. The milk companies wanted to pick up the milk on every other day, including the holy day Sunday. The shanties are shared by an average of two to three families. Telephone use however, was never banned. The idea behind these laws is that if ownership were permitted the limits would be abused. Additionally, the horse holds a long and deep traditional value of holding the community together, while the car would act as a barrier to its survival. (Kraybill, 1989) When electricity made its debut in Lancaster City in 1886 it stayed mostly confined to the limits of the city. Because of the competitive nature of the farm industry the Amish farmer must compensate for the lack of modern machinery by working much longer days. It gave them the window of opportunity to escape the community whenever and to wherever they pleased, giving them a sense of individuality that the Amish tend to shy away from. ------------------------------------------------------------------------**Bibliography**Hostetler, John A. (Kraybill, 1989) The Amish made up a significantly large portion of Pennsylvanian farmers who chose not to use electricity. (Kraybill, 1989) In the earlier days it was quite easy not having to rely on the automobile because public transportation was at such a high point. The next generation would see no difference between that and the use of cars for business trips, and so on. In a few cases, bishops permitted phones in actual shops.
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