Quote:
Originally Posted by Legbreaker
Why would they go? Aren't the Amish fairly insular and anti just about anything to do with the modern world?
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No. This is a myth. My Amish neighbors participate in my community just like everyone else. We would turn their fields over in the spring (much easier to do with a tractor) and they would give us eggs, vegetables, and we would ALWAYS buy milk from them. My Amish neighbors taught me how to tan deer hides, render fat, and make home-made ice cream. We would give them rides to town, plow them out in the winter, and otherwise help them out "technologically." This is how the majority of Amish live among the "English."
They did not go to school with us (they had their own schools up to the eighth grade), but they would participate in both the community AND government. It was the race between Trump and Clinton that "weaponized" the Amish politically. The Amish are considered "adults" at 16 years of age. Many Amish in my area worked in lumber and feed mills. The Obama Administration made a ruling against the Amish that forced them to follow US laws regarding minors working in "industrial settings." Hilary Clinton vowed to continue this policy. That left newly graduated "adult" Amish UNABLE to work for TWO YEARS after graduating from school. There was also talk about "reforming" Amish educational practices (forcing them to attend public schools not run by their church). This made the Amish vote Republican in PA during the last election. They turned the tide in PA (a Democratic-leaning state) and President Trump reversed the rulings against them using the Religious Exemption that they had operated under since the birth of our Republic. When motivated to act, they are a force to be respected due to their unity as a group.
Then there are the often overlooked "Amish Brethren," the Mennonites. They go to the same churches BUT drive cars, use technology and live in the modern world. A great many Amish are employed by Mennonites to work in jobs like roofing, lumber mills, and construction. The state of PA also employed a number of Amish, especially in construction but also in animal husbandry and forestry work.
As you can see, the Amish aren't as "detached" from US rural life as the media would have you believe.