Maintaining Amish Culture in the American Mainstream - Essay Example

?Redemption and Simpli Redemption and Simpli Maintaining Amish Culture in the American Mainstream Redemption and Simplicity 2 ABSTRACT – The Amish have maintained their cultural integrity and religious purity for hundreds of years despite cultural conflict with, and civil disobedience to, the cultural “norms” of American society. Studies have shown that there many of the stereotypes that Americans harbor about the Amish are erroneous, though certain “facts” of Amish life are immutable. Their ability to maintain a community separated from the overwhelming cultural influences that have overpowered foreign cultures will depend upon their ability to shield their young people from the dynamic effects of American educational, health care and economic factors. Redemption and Simplicity 3 Redemption and Simplicity: Maintaining Amish Culture in the American Mainstream The grand openness of America’s individualistic society has for centuries been a panacea for ethnic groups seeking a fresh start in a free land. Political oppression and religious persecution have always been the great motivating factors behind historic waves of mass emigration. The Amish are somewhat unique in that they came to America for the purpose of living apart, in obedience to the precepts of a prescribed redemptive society learned yet largely unfulfilled in Alsace, Switzerland and the German Palatinate. It is part of the genius of the American social experiment that Amish society, which stands in counterpoint to the dynamism and personal freedom that marks the American ideal, can have existed almost in a vacuum, flourishing despite such marked differences. The Amish have experienced their share of discriminatory behavior, xenophobia being an unfortunate yet persistent aspect of America’s psychological make-up. But in spite of their perceived “otherness,” the Amish embody qualities that many Americans revere: thrift, hard work and piety. Though differences exist and prejudices persist, it is the Amish respect for the sanctity of community - for theirs and others - that have made them such a respected social institution in this country, an important and admired aspect of Americana. Americans haven’t always taken Amish culture to heart. The establishment of their distinctly different lifestyle encouraged suspicion and ridicule. Amish beliefs require them to turn away from the uniquely American belief in “personal choice, mobility, fulfillment, freedom and self-actualization, the Amish argue that personal fulfillment comes through subordination to…community” (Umble and Weaver-Zercher, 2008). At the heart of this belief system is the rejection of aggressive behavior in favor of humility and simplicity. This has created conflict in some communities, where locals have often mistaken it for self-righteousness or an assumption of moral superiority. This comes down to appearance, a fact of Amish life that is traced to Jakob Ammann, the founder of the sect. The Amish approach to Redemption and Simplicity 4 dress and grooming are, in truth, pointed expressions of non-conformity, as much a symbol of emotional and intellectual acceptance of doctrine as it is a declaration of communal separateness (Hostetler, 1993). As such, the Amish are a living, thriving example of a people acting out a pointed expression of religious commitment. As different as their long beards, homespun clothes and ubiquitous straw hats may seem to tourists, there are many Americans who accept, even admire, what they take to be an example of asceticism. Religious fundamentalism and the evangelical strain in America’s religious landscape would seem to be appreciative of Amish faith. In fact, when young Amish people leave their communities it often has something to do with the influence of other faith-based groups (Hostetler). Strict obedience to principles of faith can be expressed in many ways others than dress and hygiene; lifestyle and economic pursuits also offer opportunities for expressing religious faith. Farming, the occupation of choice for the majority of Amish, is more than a means of providing for the economic well-being of family and community. It is a cornerstone of the Amish belief system that man has a choice in how he interacts with his physical environment. “Humans act to transform, and sometimes destroy, the environment and landscape in which we have evolved” (Shiraev, 2010). For the Amish, the choice to steward the land is a form of physical reverence for God’s bounty and generosity, a belief that American farmers have long shared, though perhaps in less overt ways. One of the most admirable features of Amish agricultural philosophy is the belief that man should always act as caretakers of the land, which has been bestowed by the grace of God. However, this has not always jibed with traditional American views of land management, which has historically featured aggressive, even rapacious predilections. Americans have for centuries regarded land as a possession, an asset to be mastered and exploited. The conquest of the West and the widespread theft of Native American lands were symptomatic of this uniquely aggrandizing European approach to the land and its uses. As such, the Redemption and Simplicity 5 Amish belief in careful and respectful stewardship is at odds with the cultural machismo that surrounds Amish communities. Modern economic problems that confront farmers in every American community affect the Amish as well. In fact, the rejection of technology makes financial success among Amish farmers even more difficult than for other American farms. The reality of soaring real estate prices in historic Amish communities, such as Lancaster and Berks counties in Pennsylvania, has impinged on the ability of the Amish to maintain the farms that have become synonymous with Amish culture for centuries. A simpler life, marked by careful quality has become a hallmark of Amish life. It is not unusual to see television commercials touting the craftsmanship of Amish-built products, from quilts to fireplaces and houses. These play on the perception among Americans that the Amish adhere to standards somehow more stringent than those followed in the secular American community. This offers an interesting psychological insight in that many Americans appear to identify the reverent lives of the Amish with quality and the beauty of simplicity. A study of the burgeoning Amish furniture business identified community-based businesses as being important to these perceptions of quality, particularly in places like Holmes County, Ohio, home to a large Amish community and thriving furniture manufacturing businesses. The study revealed that identification with this community was important to the success of the individual stores in this area. A survey showed that a widespread reputation for quality was key to the commercial success of the “cluster” of shops in Holmes County (Bumgardner, et al, 2011). The growth in industries such as furniture making and home building appears to be changing fundamental assumptions about the Amish among the Amish themselves, if not among Americans in general. A study conducted by Penn State University found that while many Americans presume that the Amish are solely involved in agricultural pursuits, the demographic statistics do not necessarily support these beliefs. As long ago as the mid-1990s, only 60 percent of Amish in Lancaster County, a sort of Redemption and Simplicity 6 traditional “ground zero” for the Amish presence in America, were reported as operating farms. Conversely, 67 percent of Amish entrepreneurs in Lancaster County were not involved in any farming pursuits (Findeis and Smith, 1994). Thus, the “perceptions that Amish micro-enterprises are principally farm-related and that the new industries are small “cottage” industries, were both shown to be untrue…” (Ibid). Even the perception among Americans that the Amish make the majority of their products for sale to tourists, or work as entrepreneurs to supplement farming incomes, is misleading. In reality, most items produced by Amish entrepreneurs in Lancaster County are for other Amish, or for purchase through regional or national American outlets. Americans’ ideas concerning the individual have resulted in other misconceptions about the Amish and their culture. The Amish are taught from a young age to maintain a higher level of esteem for others than for themselves, a core principle of the collectivist society in which the whole is of greater importance than its parts. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that subtle cultural differences thrive in Amish communities, which accords with the belief that human societies do not exist as perfectly uniform cultural expressions. “Saying that culture is shared excludes idiosyncratic and highly individualized ways of living or thinking” (Shiraev, 34). The isolated nature of Amish society also encourages often mistaken ideas about social support services from outside agencies during times of poor health. Such periods are notable for the stress they cause among those who help care for a loved one. But the practice of insulating themselves from almost all outside influences caused a majority to assume that the Amish are accustomed to acting exclusively on their own at such times, having developed some secret and proprietary means for dealing with the aged and the ill. This type of misconception stems from a belief that cultures, such as the Amish, are integrated. “To state that cultures are internally integrated is to assert the principle of holism…studying only one or two aspects of culture provides understanding so limited that it is more likely to be misleading or wrong than more comprehensive approaches” (Shiraev, 59). Redemption and Simplicity 7 The advent of genomics has opened a new window on the Amish, offering a new, quantifiable means of understanding what makes them distinct. In a 2009 study of the Amish population’s genetic make-up, allele and disease occurrences have been found to be anomalous among American population types. This is attributable to the Amish’s Anabaptist roots in Europe, where they are descended from a relatively small “founder” population (Strauss and Puffenberger, 2009). As a result, the Amish experience higher rates of dwarfism, macular degeneration and twinning than any other subgroup within the larger American population. These occurrences and a prevalence of Type A blood (three-fourths of the Lancaster County Amish have Type A blood) are due to the “founder effect,” a type of genetic drift common among the Amish. All of this stems from the presence of inbreeding. A study of more than 1,800 Lancaster County couples revealed that the inbreeding coefficient was roughly equivalent to each couple being more closely related than second cousins (Hostetler, 1993). The social stigma of inbreeding is a powerful taboo in American society; it has made the Amish the subject of ridicule and contempt and is the cause of much of the suspicion and criticism the Amish have endured over the past 200 years. Inbreeding does not necessarily result in genetic defects, nevertheless there has been a conscious effort in recent years among the Amish to avoid close marriages, not only to avoid hereditary problems but to defuse a negative perception among the general public (Ibid). The Amish struggle with a two-front conflict: a constant battle against an ill-conceived and misleading public stereotype and an ongoing effort to keep their young people from being “tempted” to depart from the Amish way of life. The threat to the Amish way of life is a product of ethnocentrism, which can take many forms. For the Amish, ethnocentrism manifests itself as blatant prejudice and as a belief system that assumes all Americans want nothing more than to take part in mainstream American culture as portrayed in movies, on television and on the Web. “Most people grow up thinking their culture is the only way of life and that other ways of life are strange and inferior – and Redemption and Simplicity 8 other people less than human” (Shiraev, 2010). It can seem incomprehensible to many Americans that the Amish might be motivated to remain separate as a matter of conscience and tradition as tradition has been significantly marginalized in American life, which retains a strong “melting pot” element. Education is a problem for the Amish. The trend in primary education to consolidate smaller schools is difficult for children from small, closed communities; Amish children most of all. School-age children are highly susceptible to social influences and a desire to “fit in.” There is little that can be done, considering that school attendance is compulsory. Hostetler asserts that changes in the educational system are particularly threatening to the Amish way of life because acculturation and social isolation are integral to the social development of the young in Amish communities. In other words, impressionable young people need the indoctrination of the “Amish way” in order to ensure the long-term survival of their communities (Ibid). Donald Kraybill argues that the Amish have fought so hard to remain separate because they see modern American life as having a debilitating and erosive effect on their culture. Solidarity is an essential component of the Amish identity since, without it, their communities would begin to fracture and come apart. “The fragmentation of modern life is often experienced on the personal level as alienation when ties with meaning, work, and place evaporate” (Kraybill, 2001). Thus, Kraybill argues that shunning modernity is the only reason the Amish have survived as a distinctive people (Ibid). This is a valid perspective given the peripatetic nature of 21st century American life, in which people often live in one community, go to work in another and send their children to attend school in still another one. As well, the explosion of Internet technology has added a confusing element and had a blurring effect on social context. It’s not surprising that a culture trying to remain cohesive and viable should shun exposure to the outside world, but one wonders if it’s a realistic expectation given the pervasiveness of everyday American life. Redemption 9 Finding a strong sense of identity is a key part of an individual’s psychological development. Given the fact that American culture has been known to overwhelm native cultures in many foreign countries, it is all the more remarkable that the Amish have managed to hang on to their customs and beliefs. It’s the timeless story of temptation and curiosity in which the older generation seeks to convince the younger one that time-honored principles of family and church are important and worth preserving. For the Amish, a steadfast faith in their church and the purity of their way of life have preserved their way of life and held the outside world at bay. But the bewildering social and economic change that characterizes modern American life is a constant threat to any closed culture. Kraybill says the Amish have been successful at storing up social and cultural “capital” (Kraybill, 2001). Social capital refers to a reserve of social resources that can be utilized to reinforce community values; cultural capital describes the values, beliefs and obligations within Amish life (Ibid). Both have been effective “levers” the Amish have drawn on to preserve the identity that means so much to younger people. It remains to be seen whether simple faith and cultural integrity will be enough to help the Amish maintain their cultural distinctiveness. Redemption and Simplicity 10 References Bumgardner, M., Romig, R. and Luppold, W. “The Amish Furniture Cluster in Ohio: Competitive Factors and Wood Use Estimates.” Proceedings of the 16th Central Hardwoods Forest Conference. 2011. Findeis, J.L. and Smith, S.M. “The Rapid Rise of Amish Micro-enterprises.” Rural Development Views. State College, PA: Penn State University. Fall 1994. Hostetler, J.A. (1993). Amish Society. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. 49, 330. Kraybill, D.B. (2001). The Riddle of Amish Culture. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. 19, 20. Shiraev, E. (2010). Looking At Us: An Interdisciplinary Study of Human Behaviors. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Publishing. 33, 34, 59, 61. Strauss, K.A., Puffenberger, E.G. “Genetics, Medicine and the Plain People.” Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics. Vol. 10: 513-36. September 2009. Umble, D.Z., Weaver-Zercher, D. The Amish and the Media. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. 167. Read More