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RE: We English Could Learn A Thing Or Two From The Amish
I am not judging anyone and I like that there are various communities around the world with different values that we might or might not use in our own life as well.
But the amish community seems a little strange to me. I don't know much about them so I'm not judging them but from what I've learned, I understand that they have a very special lifestyle.
Are you going to make a series? Or is it just this one post?
Oh! and I forgot to mention, although they appear to have an idylic lifestyle they are famous for treating their women like property basically.
It is totally men dominated society with women having and taking care of lots of kids, doing all the gardening, housework, cooking and laundry and sewing and taking care of the men, working before sun up to late at night with no say about anything because the men run things.
And they are doing all this work with no electricity or modern appliances in many cases. The more modern ones have generaters for the clothes washing machines though. But it's a brutal life for the women in many, if not most, of the settlements because the women have no rights and if they're stuck with a jerk male they are stuck permanently because they don't believe in divorce!
It's a very extreme community so not really for me, lol. If I cook, my husband can't expect me to do the dishes :D And he really doesn't. He simply goes and does it. We live here together so we should take care of our household together. We however do the laundry separately since he managed to color my underwear grey and I manage to color his shirts pink, lol. It was an accident from my side as I really didn't expect that that pink towel would release color :D For the rest we do everything together, or rather whoever has time does whatever is needed and I believe it is right. Nowadays, we don't need hunters anymore :D
howdy again Martina! Yes the Amish need to respect their women instead of treating them like slaves basically.
yes we don't need hunters thank God, at least not in our modern cultures. The Mongolian tribes that I did my eagle post about last week still live that way though, I was surprised to learn that.
But the rest of us should split and share the work like you guys do, that's a good example and role model!
We are definitely no good example :) I think that for everyone works something else and I believe that each couple should find the way it works for them. I hope that you're helping Mrs J too! :D
You hope I'm helping WHO? hey I'M the boss around here! lol...no I'm no boss. I do help but not enough according to her because she's a "clean freak" who thinks everyone should be cleaning all the time and the place should be spotless. So that isn't very practical in the country with alot of mud and especially with a big dog.
I still think you guys are good role models but yes, like you say..as long as the couple agree and both work on all the household chores. I can't stand it when men don't pitch in and work.
Mrs. J must never visit my house! She would be horrified!
Haha! Well no actually she doesn't hold other people to her standards, outside of our house she is normal in that respect!
Ha ha! Good to know! I do have a lot of critters living in my house at the moment. Impossible to keep it clean!
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@janton yes, I loved reading the article but I am very interested to know more about the Amish and particularly the gender roles. If it's like you say it is, then it sound very very strange to me - not to mention unhealthy.
Howdy toolanm! Well with the Amish I think it is difficult to say definitively because each settlement has their own rules and some are more reformed and modern and some are very harsh and strict so it just depends on the settlement.
However, there are general trends like treating women like second class citizens or in some cases like property with no say in any aspect of the home and all authority is given to the men. This is fairly common which in itself may not be too bad if the husband is a wonderful and Godly man.
If you look for books about the Amish online you will find many favorable books and also very critical books, with former Amish members writing with different stories and viewpoints both favorable and negative.
The Amish that I knew about gave a very positive image of hard work, honesty, protecting family and community from the dangers of society, independence from the government, self reliance, organic farming, totally green and sustainable living practices, etc.
Thank you @janton, yes I'm definitely interested to know more.
I will look out for documentary or book on the topic.
I do love the connection with nature, organic farming, simple living ...
In addition, I would not agree with your point that treating women like second class citizens wouldn't be too bad if the husband was a decent man.
My take on that is that everyone deserves to be treated equally no matter what gender.
howdy toolanm! thanks for getting back to me. I agree with you 110% of course about equality.
But my point that I was making is that if you were an Amish woman in the community and your husband was a wonderful and Godly man, I didn't say a "decent" man. But if you were living in their system and your husband was wonderful and Godly it would be, or at least should be, much better than the average marriage there.
why? Because a Godly man is NOT going to treat his wife like a second class citizen, he is going to honor, cherish, respect, protect and support her like the Bible commands.
Online there are many books giving first hand accounts both good and bad about their lifestyle. If you want to understand their official rules on things like shunning, divorce, etc you can go to amishamerica.com. But of course that site just gives official doctrine and rules but not things like how women are treated.
thanks so much for reading and commenting!
Okay, I hear you. thanks for taking the time to reply.
It sounds like women need to rely on pot luck as to the character of the husband if they are to be treated well or not.
I'm curious if Aimish women are allowed leadership roles, equal to their male counterparts, in the community.
Howdy toolanm! I highly doubt if the women are allowed leadership roles but that may be spelled out in the information on that website, amishamerica.com. But then again, it depends on what settlement they're in and what the men there decide!
That's one reason why there is alot of confusion.
Someone sent me this link about a lady who researched about the Amish women and wrote an article about it. There should be a ton of information between referrences here and the amishamerica.com website. Here is her fascinating article: https://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/2017/05/stop-romanticizing-the-amish/
Howdy Martina! yes you are so right, they are very strange in many ways, trying way too hard to avoid modern conveniences and luxuries because they think that will make them fall into the temptation of becoming carnel and worldly.
I think they could avoid the temptations of the world without resorting to using horses for working their fields and for transportation, to me that's going a little too extreme but it's their choice and it has worked for them for hundreds of years so that's an argument for their lifestyle as well.
No this is just one post because I would have to buy several books to really do details of their beliefs, traditions and way of life and I haven't done that. They are quite the controversy with several books exalting them and several condemning them.
I've had many requests to do a series about whites who were captured by the Indians and then wrote about their experience later in life so that is how I'm leaning at the moment.
I just like the fact that the Amish produce tremendous amounts of organic produce, meats, dairy products and wine of the highest quality and totally green and natural of course. We used to shop at a health food store that was almost entirely products from the large Amish settlements and it was a real blessing.
But they ARE a strange lot. They don't even believe in zippers on their clothing because that's too luxurious! lol. give me a break, they're very against people enjoying life too much!