Amish way of life

The Amish community considers technology demonic for it brings along temptations like vanity, inequality coveting of material things. Amish hierachy is male dominance and the women are subserviant. Exposing them especially the women to television will create an identity crisis and forlore which is likened to that of opening a can of worms-it is like chopping one's feet own hoe.

Amish speak four languages, a German dialect called Pennsylvania Dutch at home, High German for worship and English with outsiders.

From a very young age,the Amish childern are instilled with the values of simplicity, and are taught to abhor pride or vanity-the core child's values of Amish philosophy. In addition to this, they are taught the value of hard work since young. Regardless of gender, chores are administered as soon as the child are physically able to handle them. The clear gendered divisions of labour which persist throughout the lifetime of the child. In general, these involvethe boys working with their fathers as soon as they are able and the girls at the side of the mother, assisting her with raising other children and taking care of the home.

The reason why the Amish people farm is because, as christians, they believe that they should farm as steward's of God's creation, and that this is a spiritual activity.

The daily life of an Armenian man(husband) and woman(wife) are as follow:

The man usually wakes up at 5a.m in the morning, go to the barn and feed the animals, milk the cows and process the milk to the cans for truck delivery to the local dairy. He would then join the family for prayer and breakfast. Depending on the seasons, he would work in the fields, preparing in the fields for planting(late winter), planting the crops in the Spring or harvesting the crops in late summer or Fall. He usually works from sunup to sunset in the fields for planting and harvesting with a break for lunch. In the evening, the cows would need to be milked again.

The woman would also get up at about 5a.m, help with the milking, prepare breakfast, and if laundry day(usually monday), get the gasoline motor started on her wringer washing machine and do the laundry, hanging them out on the line to dry. She would work in the kitchen garden, preparing it for planting(with the help of her husband), or harvesting vegetables for meals. If there are children, she would prepare them for school, including preparing lunch boxes, etc. Daytime household duties i.e. ironing, washing clothes by hand, baking and cooking lunch and dinner. Depending on the season, she would can fruits and vegetables, making jellies and jams, etc. She would also sew clothes for herself, her husband and her children.

The Amish families are more tied to the local community. Sledding, skating, ice hockey, swimming, camping, fishing and hunting provides breaks from the routines of work. Informal games of softball and corner ball and volleyball have long been favourites in many of the Amish communities. Camping in local meadows and wooded areas is also popular in some communities.

The old order relies totally on manual labour while the new order has technology to assist them in their manual labour. The only item of luxury would be a car. I think some of them would revert back to the old order because having electricity means having to pay bills, which is a mountain of burden should introduction of the internet invade the community. I personally emphathise with the youth who feel so lost when presented with the opportunity to experience life outside the community when they reach 18 . These gullible souls are target for conmen and tricksters. On the bright side,I think that they are being benovolent and magnanimous for allowing young youths to decide whether to venture back into their community or stay outside it. I also realised why about 80% choose home.Their experience further reinforces the fact that technology is demonic.