Free Plain Answers About the Amish Life by Mindy Starns Clark Page B

a laptop?
    Yes. Unfortunately for the Amish, digital technology development races along at a speed far greater than that of mechanical tractordevelopment. Until districts draw hard-and-fast rules for or against various types of digital technology, more and more Amish are gaining exposure to and experience with them.
    What about cell phones?
    Cell phones are a huge issue as they are used both by parents in the workplace and often by teens prior to baptism. One isn’t likely to see a cell phone at an Amish dinner table anytime soon, but many are kept tucked away to be used in more private moments.
    One Amish mother explains that she wouldn’t have a problem with her teens owning cell phones (as long as they didn’t use them while inside the home), but she is concerned about the Internet access that her children would get through those cell phones.
    Until a final decision is made, this quiet infiltration is likely to continue. On a recent trip to Lancaster County, I personally saw a sight that made me do a double take: an Amish youth, relaxing on a trampoline in his front yard, busily texting away with his thumbs just like any other American teenager.
    Are there rules about landline telephones?
    Yes. Telephones are not installed in Amish homes, for various reasons, but primarily because:
    â€¢ Landlines form a connection with the world.
    â€¢ Telephones can disrupt the peacefulness of home life.
    â€¢ Unnecessary telephone conversations can lead to gossip.
    â€¢ Telephone use eliminates the need for many face-to-face interactions with other members of the community.
    Because of the necessity of this type of communication in certain situations (emergencies, long-distance relationships that require an immediate response to a need or question, and necessary interaction with the non-Amish), shared telephones are used in most districts. Such phones will often be installed in barns or in “phone shanties” and are used by the surrounding families as needed.
    â€”I N T HEIR O WN W ORDS —
    I cannot imagine what it would be like if we had a telephone in the house. Even with the phone out in the barn, our teenager already calls her friends two or three times a week!
    What’s a phone shanty?
    A phone shanty is a little building, not connected to any home, that contains a telephone and phone book. Shanties are located between neighboring farms so they can be used by more than one family. Calls are recorded in a notebook or “call log” and bills settled at the end of each month.
    Do these shared phones have voice mail or answering machines?
    Usually they do, though messages may be checked and calls returned somewhat infrequently.
    What about cameras? Is it true that the Amish don’t want to be photographed?
    Yes, that is true. Most Amish do not own cameras or take photographs, though this has nothing to do with restrictions on technology. Instead, they believe photographs are biblically prohibited by Exodus 20:4, which says, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”

19
    TRANSPORTATION
    Why don’t the Amish use cars?
    The Amish do not drive or own cars for several reasons, including:
    â€¢ Humility : A lack of expensive, fancy cars provides less opportunity for pride.
    â€¢ Submission : Following the transportation rules demonstrates obedience to God, to the group, and to history.
    â€¢ Community : When travel is limited, everyone stays closer together and depends on one another.
    â€¢ Thrift : Not owning a car eliminates loan payments, insurance, repairs, maintenance, and gasoline.
    â€¢ Family : Owning and driving one’s own car provides too many opportunities for temptation and allows one to roam too far from home.
    â€¢ Separation : Their distinctive form of transportation provides a visible symbol of their separation from the world.

    But why horse and buggy?