Sociology: Culture Studies of the Amish and Popular Culture
I have decided to do my research on the following:
1.
The
Old Order Amish
And
2.
Popular
Culture
My thesis will be on the comparison of two cultures
that are the totally opposite of one another. I want you to see, and feel just
how grateful you are for everything you have. I am not even going to tell you
everything about the Amish.
And trust me, you already know everything you have.
And I bet you wish and think that you could have and want more.
With this project that I have chosen, I want you to
know why. It is because I feel that I can relate to it. I have had it in my
life since I was a child, so I feel that some of my insight will be forthright.
I found this project quite interesting, and I enjoyed it.
The Amish: To begin allow me to explain that I grew up
in Akron, Ohio. It was not unusual to see an Amish horse and carriage traveling
around. And when you went places, as a child, the Amish were common to see. I
was a child born in 1965. I grew up with no electronics, but at least I did
have a TV. I had electricity, and I had warmth, and a fan when it was hot. My
clothes were washed in a washer, not by hand, and dried in a dryer.
The Amish cannot say this. And as a child, I grew up
asking these people with long beards, and curls and beautiful horses why they
were the way they were.
When we traveled to Pennsylvania when I was older, we
seen many of Presidents graves, and visited what was known as Amish Country.
They sold items in their own stores, and they made the items themselves.
Homemade butter, home grown vegetables and fruit. Woodworked furniture and
toys, so beautifully crafted, that you couldn’t help but admire them. Even
their horse and carriage, they had made that themselves.
To learn more then what I had known and learned from
the past, I decided to search here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/amish.htm
where I found much more information. This is where I learned the following:
The Amish created a movement that had been founded in
Europe by one Jacob Amman, from whom their name is derived. It is said that in
many ways, it started as a reform group within the Mennonite movement, which
was said to be an attempt to restore some of the early practices of the
Mennonites. These beliefs and passions of the Mennonites had been based on the
writer and founder of the Mennonite faith: Menno Simmons. It is said, however,
that in the late 17th century, that the Amish split from the
Mennonites that had generally lived in Switzerland, because they perceived lack
of discipline.
It was later in the early 18th Century that
many of the Amish migrated to the United States. Initially, many settled in
Pennsylvania, but some settled in Ohio, New York, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and
other surrounding states.
The Amish movement is simple, they are to make what
they need, live on the land, and live of the land, and do without the modern
day things. The Amish believe in non-warfare, and reject the Military. The
Amish practice Rumspringa when the children become of age, to allow them to
decide if they want to remain Amish, or chose to become their own person. Most
Amish do not have telephones, but there are a select few who do have a phone
remote from the house. Photographs are not permitted, and if ever you take a
photo of an Amish person without their consent this could cause problems.
There are these, and many more issues, that follow
along with the Amish, to name only a few.
As for Popular Culture: This is where you and I come
in. We have TV, cell phones, electricity, and anything and everything we want.
We usually open a can of corn, rather than grow it from our garden. We don’t
ride a horse and buggy, we drive a car, and we don’t mind if someone takes our
picture, it just better be our good side! This is just a simple comparison.
Popular culture will have signs everywhere, stating
where we are, what speed limit to drive, and where the next city is located.
Amish will have nothing, and if there is a sign, the
sign will be made in wood, and carved by hand-unless the county went through of
their own accord and put up signs, which the Amish will not be pleased with. But
of course, because the land is owned by the USA, the Country signs stating the
main things, will be official. The Amish signs will be hand made, and look
quite impressive, until age and weather has hindered the signage of course.
The Amish have Schools, however it is said that their
Schools only educate to grade eight. Many of the parents further educate the
children in their homes. The language spoken, is German dialect, or referred to
as Pennsylvania Dutch.
Popular Culture today has all kinds of dialects. There
is slang, emoji’s, acronyms, sign language, DOS, computer language, foreign
languages, oh so much more. And to top it off, we as humans, and even popular
American’s are so up front and forward, that we are not afraid to say what see,
think and feel that we are even known to bully one another. We let our emotions
cause hatred, blame, and much of our problems. This alone makes us much more
different then what the Amish teach and believe.
This is something the Amish cannot say. The Amish do
not have hatred. The Amish have their religion, and the only worry they have is
when they send their teens out on Rumspringa.
This is where we as people could benefit to learn from
the Amish, where we could learn to curb our hate, and emotion. But this will
never happen.
Popular Culture, uses electricity and has that as a
bill, Amish do not. Popular culture need to go out and buy their fruits and
vegetables, while Amish do not. However, the Amish can have a pro and con to
this, with droughts and weather. On the same token, they may chose to can their
fruits and vegetables, which will preserve them. This preservation usually
lasts longer than our store bought cans.
Pointing out pros and cons, you can well enough see,
there are many different things to compare. Many different things to think
about, but if you are a common popular person, who has been raised with
electricity, and never went camping without electricity, been in a power-outage,
or anything like this; then you could never make it as an Amish.
Also let it be known, the Amish do not like strangers
and visitors amongst them. So if you ask them, “May I stay with you for a week
or a month, to see if I can handle it?” The answer will be no. They like their
privacy and they like things just the way they are. They feel safer this way,
and honestly, I don’t blame them.
To conclude, I feel that I have made a nice
comparative, and shared my insights, plain and simple. I think that you will
see and think about what I have shared with you. Afterwards, you will think
about your pleasures, wants and needs, and be grateful for everything that you
have. And you too, will be glad that you are not Amish. Especially if you
become ill. Medicine is rarely an option, until you are very, very sick.
Remember to be grateful for everything that you do have.
References:
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