Growing Up Amish: The Rumspringa Years

Epilogue

[ { Epilogue Anyone who has studied the history of the Amish knows that they have been out of step and out of favor with the dominant culture far more than they have been accepted or admired. Most Amish adults know the history of the years of scorn and even severe persecution they have had to endure. Yet many fret that all the positive attention and esteem that currently surrounds them may lead to their undoing, or at least to a false sense of their importance and ultimately to pride. As evidence of their present popularity, virtually anything Amish sells, whether produce at a roadside stand, exquisite hardwood furniture crafted in Holmes County, Ohio, or advertising time slots on Amish Mafia or other Amish-themed television programs. Despite occasional aberrant behavior—such as the widelypublicized beard-cutting incidents with the Sam Mullett Ohio group, allegations of Amish-owned puppy mills in Pennsylvania, or ongoing sexual abuse in a Wisconsin community—Amish credibility and status is at an alltime high. By every outward indicator, their future looks strong. The continued success of the Amish in transmitting their culture to the upcoming generations has been at the heart of my ongoing interest in studying Amish life and adolescence for the past quarter of a century: How have they not only survived but continue to thrive and grow more than three centuries after their founding? My interest in their viability and longevity only deepened as I studied other cultural groups. In the past three 300 [ Growing Up Amish { decades, I have taught cross-cultural courses in Alaskan villages, the Caribbean Islands, Central America, South America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. In my interactions with groups ranging from Alaska natives in Point Hope and Barrow, to the Maya in Belize, the native peoples in Samoa , and the Maori in the South Pacific, I have mostly encountered fragments of their traditional cultures, along with scattered efforts among onceesteemed elders to revive and restore the old ways and languages among the young. My overall experience, however, is that the younger set has little interest in studying or returning to the old ways. Rather, they are interested in adopting Western habits, technology, and popular culture as quickly as they can. When my students and I sought to experience the “authentic culture,” our hosts would designate an evening, or occasionally an entire day, where they showcased traditional dances, costumes, foods, and stories. As soon as the festivities ended, however, the youth quickly reverted to their cutoff jeans, t-shirts, ball caps, and iPods. One of my iconic images was of our primary Samoan cultural guide and interpreter, tending the smoking fire pit where a suckling pig was roasting for our traditional feast. He was bare chested, clad only in his lava-lava wrap, and heavily tattooed from waist to knees in the authentic style of his forbears. Nevertheless, when he turned away from us to tend the heap of burning coconut shells, I saw that his cell phone was hanging from a leather cord, a safe place to protect the device from the heat and the flames over which he was bending. In virtually all of the above settings, most of their cultural manifestations are no longer a part of everyday life and are only exhibited for special events or visitors like us. The salient question for me is whether, or if, the day will come when the remnants of Amish culture will be trotted out to be remembered and reenacted for the benefit of curious tourists—perhaps the reenactment of a wedding, followed by a traditional wedding feast and songs in German. In light of their present growth and successes today, it is hard to even visualize such a scenario. But as I visited many Amish communities and talked with scores of teenagers and adults while researching and writing this revision , I found many Amish adults concerned about their future. None saw an imminent ending of Amish society as they have known it, but many worried about the nature of Amish life in the years to come, especially in [ Epilogue { 301 light of the technological challenges they face today. When I asked dozens of parents and ministers to tell me what they perceived to be the biggest challenge they face, they overwhelmingly raised the issues related to cell phones, smartphones, computers, and the Internet. These concerns were not restricted only to...