... With the Amish People
In the era of globalization, today all people in the world use modern
technologies wear jeans, drive cars... The "modern" way of life has
gained mainly people who have found themselves brought face to face with a
difficult choice between conserving his own ancestral traditions and adopting a
new style of life with the “common” modern way of life…However, there still are some
populations who have chosen to conserve all of their ancestral traditions,
refusing to share this modern lifestyle and for that, deliberately cutting
themselves off the rest of the world.
That is
the case of the Amish People, also
known as the Plain People.
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Amish people live principally in United State of America, on productive farmlands.
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| A different way of life by choice. |
“Do not conform to the world which surrounds
them. To give up on oneself. To give up on play a part in the world.”
That is the main belief which encourages them to conserve their ancestral
way of life.
Therefore their culture can give us
the impression to go back in the time…
For example, they usually refuse to
use electricity, telephones, televisions because all of threads represent the
liaison with the exterior.
All aspects of Amish lifestyle are
dictated by rules and religious
beliefs which vary from community to community and order to order. Indeed
there are different religious orders among Amish population, but all these
churches regroup on common characteristics.
The Amish people are an old
religious sect, direct descendants of the Anabaptist Christians of sixteenth
century Europe. This sect results of a reaction against the official Church on
this time too lax for some people and almost living in the lust.
That’s why, as their name shows it
-the Plain people-, the Amish have to
live in the most simplicity.
The religion and its beliefs sparks
off a lot of other rules, lifestyle and decisions that they have to take:
for example once they marry, woman do not cut their hair and men are required
to let they beards grow because it’s a link symbol witch unite them with God.
Their clothing too is an expression
of their faith to encourage humility and separation from the world: very simple
style, made at home, primarily dark in color.
They are all similar to traduce an
absence of social organization into a hierarchy: between Amish people, all are
equal in front of God.
But we can note than equality is
not really effective because there is even though a strong family structure,
patriarchal where the father is considered the head of the Amish household.
Chores are clearly divided by sexual role: the man usually works on the farm
while the wife does the household chores, roles which are teach early to
children.
The family structure and the
solidarity and mutual assistance relations between members of community are
very important and any technology which they fell weakens are avers
by the Amish. So we can understand why they don’t use for example
tractors or modern farm machines and techniques, automobiles (they use
buggies).
Because all of that -which come
from the modern world- is considered like a temptation that could cause
vanity, create inequality or lead the Amish away their close-knit community and
the sin.
"Because of their religious beliefs, Amish try to
separate themeselves from "outsiders", in an effort to avoid
temptations and sin."
In front of all their beliefs, it
can be very strange, for people who avoid violence in all forms, that such events occurred…It can even be unbelievable for someone who know nothing about this culture aspects... So when we know the religious symbol meaning of the bears and hair who haven’t to be cut, we can understand
better the reason of targets of this attacks by someone who wants to take he’s
revenge for old quarrels into the community…
Consequently the religion seems to be the cause of this "hate-crime" ; or better said the cause is in the bad use of this religion done by an insane man more than in the religion itself. Let me explain, in some of its ideas, this religion can give a good way to live with a perspective of common happiness... Well, in our point of view of "modern-way-of life" we can't understand a lot of customs and consequently to not be agree with its... As for me, it's the little liberty which the Amish have in their life because of their religion and the condition of the woman (clearly inferior than the man) which the most upset myself.
And I will conclude saying that to my mind, this event shows that even with a strict way of life and beliefs -religion-, people is
able to the worst atrocities... if it isn't precisely this rules and stylelife which has lead to this atrocities ?
My Dear Hades,.jpg)
