I think we need some clarity here about the Amish. I live and work in the heart of Amish country here in Pennsylvania, USA. Many of our clients at the company I work for are Amish. Some of our employees used to be Amish, but left to become Menonnites.
The statement made above about the Amish pulling their children's teeth is an outright lie! They take pretty good care of themselves, and you hardly ever see any of them with bad teeth. If one goes bad or something, maybe they will pull (1), but not an entire set of teeth. This is complete BS.
Also, about the "rules" they live under. The Amish in Lancaster, PA, are very different then they were 20-25 years ago. Things are changing. Most of the Elder's are of a younger generation now (guess the generation that saw 1914 died off!!!) and are easing up on alot of "modern" rules. Let me explain. Alot of them now carry cell phones. What? Yeah, you heard me!! Also, if they own a business, many of them hire people to drive them around, even owning the vehicles, but having someone else drive them around.
The Elders just like JW's, rule the roost. Rules are different from congregation to congregation. We have seen absolutely incredible homes with the finest workmanship you can imagine in some of the Elder's homes. I've even seen - a TV in the house!!!! Yeah, an Amish house with electric and a TV, phone, etc. This is highly unusual though. Most have phones out away from their homes in a small shack, looking alot like an out-house.
All of the horse-drawn carriages have lights now, but that's required by law. Too many of them were being hit and killed along the road. As for business?? Well, the Amish are incredibly wealthy......honestly, I've never seen anything like it. Most of them are millionaires several times over. How you may ask, if they live "simple"? Easy.....generations of Amish that NEVER HAVE TO PAY TAXES, as they are tax exempt due to their religious status. This, combined with the fact that they rarely buy any clothing (besides boots) or food (They grow and raise their own) coupled with the fact that farms are handed down from generation to generation and family money hourdes are combined during marriages, makes the Amish incredibly wealthy.
In business, the Amish are also very stingy and keep track of every penny, and are almost always trying to get something for nothing or next to nothing. This isn't any BS, but my own experiences. Many in businesses around here refer to them as, "Christian Jews," not only because of how they live under the law but also by how they often try to "Jew you around."
I really hate relating that, it makes me sound anti-semetic, which I am absolutely not. It is just how it is around here.
Ok....ex-communicating. If you leave during 18-19 year of exploration, or you get kicked out later, they may talk to you, but that's about it. Do you own business?? Farm? Forget about having any pull, special treatment, bartering, etc.......you are now a "Worldly Person" and you'll be treated as such as I stated above. Kind of like the JW's......you can leave if you want, but their are CONSEQUENCES. So the Amish just put no a happy face, but will treat you like sh*t or like a no-body from there on.
Hope this helped.
- Wing Commander
