The Amish dig it 7

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1. 

   gmunger Posted 5:48 am
   14 May 2007

   supply or demand?I'm not sure what it says about the energy source, but I do think it might be interesting to know what the Amish are using the energy for. It seems to me that the Amish lifestyle can be cleverly frugal. So how do the Amish make most effective use of limited quantities of electrical power? I think the answer could be instructive for the larger population.

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2. 

   caniscandida Posted 5:38 pm
   14 May 2007

   "being independent"GMUnger does well to ask about the purpose of this independence project that the Amish are apparently committed to.  It is indeed very attractive, in a way.  But do we all really want to be "independent," like that?  Is it not more loving, really, to acknowledge and accept our dependence, one on another?
   
   Chickens are our cousins!
   
   So are other sensitive animals!
   
   Enough is enough!
   
   No more factory farms!

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3. 

   gmunger Posted 12:55 am
   15 May 2007

   Amish independenceThanks canis. I might suggest, however, that your black-and-white characterization is not sufficient here. The independence of the Amish from the larger US culture is easily acknowleged, particularly r.e. their selective use of "modern" technologies and their eschewing of pop culture. But they do greatly depend on each other, especially at the local community level.
   Social critics of much greater stature than I have written of the dearth of "community" in the US. The Amish, on the other hand, provide a model of how to organize a "community" that is worth examining, and perhaps emulating in some aspects.
   Clearly self-reliance and interdependence are both important concepts when considering how to organize our "communities", be it at the scale of household, town, city, nation, or world. Getting the appropriate mix, at the appropriate scales, is the tricky part.

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4. 

   caniscandida Posted 1:29 am
   15 May 2007

   "interdependence"Very well put, GMUnger, and I agree with everything you have written (except that I was being "black-and-white" -- ha ha).
   I rather mistrust the Amish, because they seem to have hardened the virtuous voluntary lifestyle of the Benedictines into something that is too inflexible and involuntary.  But I do not know enough about them, really, and so am not seriously passing judgment.
   By the way, I similarly mistrust Islam, nay, positively dislike it, for hardening and crystallizing certain virtues and forms of piety in the Bible, and in Jewish and Christian practice, and so rendering them in fact void of any virtue -- e.g., almsgiving, the daily prayer cycle, the pilgrimage.
   But I like what you say about community and interdependence -- even as I still mistrust the mistrust of the Amish for us, "the English."
   
   Chickens are our cousins!
   
   So are other sensitive animals!
   
   Enough is enough!
   
   No more factory farms!

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5. 

   Dawn Pillsbury Posted 2:12 am
   15 May 2007

   21st century MennonitesThe Advocate says they're using the power for light. Makes sense. That's gotta be nicer than living with than kerosene, or even nat gas, lamps.
   I hope Raber is selling CFLs, too.

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6. 

   sunflower Posted 2:51 am
   15 May 2007

   Light readingHaving lived for years with only candle and oil light I can appreciate their need for solar light.  I tried mirrors and extra candles for reading but could not make it work for me, and that was when I did not need reading glasses.

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7. 

   caniscandida Posted 3:02 am
   15 May 2007

   kerosene lampsRight, romantic for a few minutes, but in fact really stinky.
   The guest quarters of the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, a bit north of Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, had kerosene lamps, and wood-burning stoves -- and perhaps that is still the case.  Firing up the stove was fun, though nowadays I would have questions about where the firewood came from.  But the kerosene lamp was pretty poisonous.
   
   Chickens are our cousins!
   
   So are other sensitive animals!
   
   Enough is enough!
   
   No more factory farms!

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