Reply #26: Wrong. Not all Amish communities cut off communication

[sybylla]

with the rest of the world. Here in central Wisconsin we have several Amish and Mennonite communities with varying degrees of restrictions. My neighbors, for example, are very open. They use tractors, have electricity, use phones and have invited me and my family to share in some of their festivities from their children's xmas chorale to the wedding of one of their children last year. They have gone with me to volunteer at the Red Cross blood drives. They have no fear of participating in the community outside their own.

I could also say the same for many of the Mennonite communities to the north of me.

There is one sect of Amish to the south west of me that is very closed and restricted. Women and children are not allowed to speak to anyone outside their community. When they come to town, the men conduct all the business and the women and children remain silent bystanders. They have no electricity, use only horses and sometimes gasoline engines. Large parts of the year their children run barefoot but all in all, seem to live generally happy existences.

Between these two extremes, there are a variety of communities in between. To call them all the same, to cry "cult" without knowing or being privy to their daily lives is pure bigotry. As others have said on this thread, there are good and bad in any group. Let's not stoop to prejudice.