The Paradox Of The Amish Culture

In our current fast-paced world there is little time to savor every moment, acknowledge our surroundings, and detach from our daily devices. People take everything for granted and contend lack appreciation for our modernized world. Yet, there is a society that functions as an isolated body, stripped of all modern conveniences. The Amish represent themselves as an ideal body but are criticized for many of the traditions and beliefs they support. The paradox of the Amish brand often extricates questions on the methods the modern world abides and puts into question the integrity of them. The Amish civilization serves as a utopia. “Utopia” is a name endowed to an ideal community or society, used to describe both communities that have attempted
The ultimate paradox is that the Amish reflect a quality that the rest of society present: refined virtue. They have tried to maintain a stabile environment for themselves, the fluctuating economy has posed as a pressure point. In a sense, the Amish are wealthy, not in regards to income but rather in property value. It is the community that functions as the bank and the insurance company with no interest payment, as it is lacks a borrowing network. It must be taken into account the fact that the Amish spend little on clothing, food, entertainment, and transportation as it is all cheaply made and self-produced down to the raw materials. The business world is a segue into dramatic alterations to the traditional Amish way. In this day and age artificial preservatives are utilized on a grand scale but they can cause allergic reactions such as flushing, itching, nausea, and muscle aching and even long term effects which have been scarcely investigated (Gale Encyclopedia of Diets). This is also an effect of the supply and demand curve where the Amish are able to undergo less stress due to the smaller ration of land size to labor force. The rest of civilization strips itself of what is necessary for nourishment, sacrificing quality for quantity. The Amish use manure instead of fertilizer and completely avoid using pesticides, the polar opposite trend of the rest of America. Horses are used to plow and plant their crops rather than tractors and combines but there have been general changes over the last decade. The Amish have become entangled with non-Amish businessmen who are seeking to have a recognizable brand for all of the benefits of the Amish image. It has been aggressively advertised but what lacks mention is the exchange of “plows to profits” (Kraybil). Despite their best endeavors almost every aspect of their practices are scrutinized,