Taking a Look at Amish Extremism

The Amish, an Anabaptist group that lives mainly on the east coast in Pennsylvania and Maryland, may be seen by the everyday American as a tad unconventional, but peaceful all the same. It can be disputed whether or not you would call the Amish lifestyle “extreme”. Extremism in context means outside the societal norms of everyday living. Although there are connotations that all extremist groups are aggressive and hazardous towards society, this is not always the case. The alternative lifestyle of the Amish is in fact “extreme” due to their living conditions, religion, world views, and educational system.

The living conditions of the Amish are seen as far too extreme for the average American. Many Amish farm; continuing to use their horse-drawn equipment even with the enhancements in farming technology over the past few years (Hostetler 14). They also rely heavily on these horses, as well as basic scooters, bikes, and wagons to go from one place to another as a substitute to the modern vehicles driven today. Their mode of transportation is extreme in the sense that there is great risk in driving a horse and buggy on a busy highway. They could get hit by a car or lose control of the horse and cause injury to themselves and others. There are children who scooter along the road in the same hazardous way, all for the sake of keeping life “simple”. Amish also tend to not have much, if any, electricity and rely on gas lights, literally leaving them, as the saying goes, “in the dark”. To the Amish, English improvements in technology stray away from a human’s connection with God. Technology is seen not as progression; but regression (Hostetler 14). The Amish keep a certain primitive sense when it comes to technology – baffling those who a...

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...d educational systems combined with their religious and worldly views that certainly put them in the category of being an “extremist” community.

Works Cited

Denlinger, A. Martha. Real People : Amish And Mennonites In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Scottdale, Pa: Herald Press, 1993. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Hostetler, John Andrew. Amish Life. Scottdale, Pa: Herald Press, 1983. EBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 28 Nov. 2013.

Hostetler, John Andrew. The Amish. Scottdale, Pa: Herald Press, 1995. EBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 30 Nov. 2013.

Olshan, Marc Alan, and Donald B. Kraybill. The Amish Struggle with Modernity. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1994. EBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 30 Nov. 2013.

"Rumspringa: To Be Or Not To Be Amish." Publishers Weekly 253.11 (2006): 60. Business Source Premier. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.