analog

First of all... if you're here to make commentary about the event that took place in the Amish school, you're in the wrong thread. I don't want that in here, because this isn't the thread for that.

Ok now...

I'd like to first say that I've never actively disrespected the Amish. I may have taken a light jab at their culture here or there, but I actually tend to leave them alone and stay away from the jokes about them. Why do I feel like I should go easy on them when I'll joke on any other culture with no problem? I honestly don't know. Maybe it's because i'd rather let them be, because they've certainly never hurt anyone.

But here's the thing...

The human species is naturally supposed to grow (mentally) and learn more and more. As generations pass, each new generation is naturally inclined to pass on their knowledge, so that the next generation can take that knowledge and expand on it, creating greater understandings of the world around them and to ensure the survival of the species.

So why is it that the Amish want to simply... stagnate?

Now I did think to myself... what about small groups of people around the planet that are still in "tribes" or "villages", who have not themselves become industrialized? Well, I don't have an answer for that. Most likely, it's because there are so few people (relatively speaking) that the learning curve per generation isn't all that big. That, and many of the biggest advances in technology throughout history have taken place because of just one person's discovery, or a group's discovery, of something new.

Here's the beef, though...

The Amish, however, KNOW exactly what is out there. They may not know the extent to which technology has grown, but they know of electricity, of modern medicine, and of many of the basic things we don't even blink at that leave them awe-struck. So they know all of this is out there, and that all they have to do is ask and they'll all be a part of it.

My thinking is that because they specifically refuse any change, I find it hard to respect that lifestyle choice. Shunning technology is one thing, but they specifically refuse any kind of change.

Is it just me that has a problem with a culture whose purpose and continuing mission is "nothing changes"?

Does anyone disagree with the notion that groups of people, cultures, are naturally inclined to growth in knowledge? If, then, a culture specifically says, "we will not change, we will not grow"... does that kind of intentional closed-mindedness make you think less of them, maybe? Or do you respect their desire to keep things to manual labor, to make life harder and worth more effort?