The Amish Case

The Amish

The Amish culture consist of communities of people that have been willingly living life with limited resources, little to no technical advances, but have survived centuries without modern ritual. The Amish communities of the world has survived with home remedies passed down from generation to generation to cure illnesses, has survived with midwives delivering their offspring, and has survived making a living without any knowledge of how to work computers. The Amish culture aspects of living are unthought-of to the many Americans who have to have the latest cell phones on the market, or to the many American families that will hyperventilate if they had to live one day without electricity. The Amish community has structured economic organizations that ensure families as well as communities have the necessary needs, they have sickness and healing rituals that have worked for them for generations past and generations to come, and the gender relations and roles that are set into place are followed and govern the actions of men, women, and children in the communities.

The Amish have been able to maintain ethnic subculture by successfully resisting acculturation and assimilation. The Amish maintain cultural customs that preserve their identity. The Amish have resisted assimilation into American culture by emphasizing separation from the world, rejecting higher education, selectively using technology, and not having interaction with people outside of their culture. The Amish speak English, German, and a dialect known as Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch. The Amish are horticulturalist and agriculturalist, meaning they cultivate their own fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbal remedies that they use for medicines. The Amish communities are independent people who believe do not believe in depending on external resources, such as banks, pharmacies, and apparel stores. The Amish communities also believe in sewing their own clothing for their families.

The Amish community has been functioning with set economic roles, and set gender roles for many centuries. The males of the Amish community have many roles, they are the leaders of the community, they are the leaders of their household, and they provide for their families financially. The males in the Amish community make a living for their families through trade jobs. Many of the males in the community are farmers, but with the decreasing demand for farmers/ farm helpers many of the males in the Amish community have jobs elsewhere. The Amish males have been known to work in factories, some own personal businesses such as shoe making, furniture making, and others work for others in the community. According to E. Regev "Amish congregations are led by a bishop, minister and deacon, nominated by the local members. Among the Mennonite Brethren almost half of the male members serve in leading positions, nominated by the believers in the congregations" (Regev, E. pg.166). They also do other jobs like own their home base business, working as carpenters and be helpers or laborers in factories (Lemon, B.S. pg. 54).

Amish women have many roles in the community, and are essential to the community. The Amish women are the ropes that tie the household together, and keep everything intact. Although the Amish do not contribute financially, they help to ensure their male counterparts have everything needed to complete jobs. The women are considered to be the center of the Amish life. As a wife the Amish women are required to bare the children of the community, they are raised to care for their husbands, their children, their household, and they plan and organize social events. The women in the Amish communities also sew nearly all the clothes for the people in the community. According to Pumell and Paulanka (1998), Amish women bare an average of seven children. Amish women duties extend beyond baring children, they are disciplinarians, they have duties of the church, they are home makers, and they contribute to whatever their husbands need (Lemon, B.S. pg. 54).

The Amish children have important roles as well. Education is essential in the Amish community. All children are required to attend school, and after school they have financial and other roles as well. Children, who are of age, relieve some of the financial burdens bestowed upon the men. Children often do yard work and other chores in the community for compensation. Often times in the Amish community, young men help their fathers with a days' worth of work to ensure jobs do not take too much time from other sources of financial income. Just like the young men in the community, the young ladies have important roles as well. The girls of the Amish community learn very early in life to serve their husbands, their parents, and the people in their community, but they also do chores like the young men in the community. The young ladies in the community have many roles, they help with chores for compensation, but they also learn the roles of their mothers in order for them to learn their role as a future Amish wife and mother.

The Amish communities are close knit they stick together and believe in helping their Amish friends, family, and neighbors' .According to (Lemon, B.S. pg. 55) some examples are Amish "barn-raising" is one example where several hundred men from many church districts gather to build a new barns. While the men are building the barns the women are congregated preparing and cooking meals, tending to the children, and ensuring that the men have everything needed. The Amish have other projects that they assist each other on. (Lemon, .B.S.pg55) Amish call these projects "frolics" and they occur when Amish families get together and help build a small buildings like sheds and corn cribs. The Amish communities also come together in times of needs and condolences. For example when accidents or major illness occurs, the Amish communities have fast acting responses from their communities. They come together as a community to help, baring financial gifts and other needed necessities for their loved ones in need.

The Amish believe in traditional remedies that are past down from generation to generation (Lemon, S.B.pg54). Some of the remedies are teas and tonics, soaking the wounds in kerosene or rearing copper rings to treat arthritis. The Amish community does not feel it is necessary to pay monthly for medical insurance. The Amish culture pays for their medical bills using cash, when they have medical emergencies that call for professional help. The Amish does not use modern day use line of credit, debit, or any forms of monies that require banks. The Amish culture avoid going to the medical facilities unless utterly necessary. Maternal health difficulties, along with child healthcare are the main reasons individuals in the Amish community have