The Amish are an easy target in our modern world. They reject modernity as another outgrowth of modernity, and, well, the clothes are a bit drab. UPN has a new "reality" series centered on a group of Amish teens going to the big city. I had dismissed the show out of hand, but Chris Armstrong thinks there's something we can learn:
Those who keep watching this show can expect a far more interesting dynamic than the "let's-see-if-we-can-make-the-innocents-sin" project. That is, we'll continue, as we did in the premiere episode, to see the "city kids" squirm. And we, if we're honest, will likely do a little squirming ourselves. We are challenged by the very presence of the "plain people's" way of life, even in the diluted, transplanted form of searching, conflicted Amish young adults trying to come to grips with what being Amish means and whether they want to "own" that identity.
In the Amish, in other words, we have a highly visible witness of a different way of living.
Quoting Don Kraybill, he sums up core beliefs of the Amish, beliefs that strike me as highly valuable and sensible:
Specifically, the Amish and similar groups critique three aspects of the modern gospel of progress:
"First, they question the power of human reason as a basis for knowledge. The claims of tradition and the Bible ring truer to them than those of science and higher education.
"Second, they doubt that personal autonomy brings greater freedom or happiness. Rather, they argue that only within the web of stable communities will individuals find security and satisfaction.
"Finally, they dispute the claim of the multicultural canon that all values and beliefs are equally valid. Such tolerance, they believe, denies the very possibility of truth."
The full discussion of their mindset is worth your time. And I might even give the tv show a try.
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