The Rural Voice, 1983-08, Page 41KEITH ROULSTON
Admiration
for the Amish
My wife's father used to tell his children
when they were being particularly
belligerent: "I can hardly wait until you
grow up and have kids just like you." I
guess I'm getting mine these days.
I remember when I was a child (some
say I still am), I used to try to get my way
by saying, "well everybody else does it."
This included everything from not wearing
boots to school the day the snow melted
even though there was still mud to the
ankles, to getting some new fad toy
(remember Davey Crockett caps) that I
would die if I didn't get immediately.
Sometimes I think my kids are playing
back tape recordings of me when I was
young. And at those times too, I think I'm
playing back tapes of my parents replies,
"Well I don't care what everybody does,"
followed by several options: a) I can't af-
ford it; b) you're not going to catch
pneumonia; or c) everybody else is not my
son/daughter.
In a way things are tougher for us
parents today than in the old days. Today
when you use that line "I can't afford it,"
you know the kid doesn't believe you and
he knows that if he keeps bugging you un-
til it becomes a priority to shut him up,
you'll find the money somewhere. In my
day, we just didn't have the money and
you knew that no matter how long you
bugged, you weren't going to win the argu-
ment.
I must admit I'm still subject to the
same instincts to be one of the crowd, to
be like everybody else. Faced with those
social pressures, though, I've come to ad-
mire those who resist and don't run with
the crowd. As a youngster, for instance, I
thought people who refused to go along
with the latest trends were stupid, ab-
solute Neanderthals. There were still, for
Instance, some farmers who ploughed
with horses, for heavens sake.
Even as I grew older I found It very hard
to understand how the Amish people
could live as they did. I could pick out all
the Inconsistencies in their lives, how they
couldn't for instance, drive a motorized
tractor but could tow an engine around
on a steel wheeled wagon to run a
threshing machine. It made them more
ridiculous in my eyes.
Today, though while I can still smile at
their inconsistencies, I have a great deal
of admiration for the Amish. I sometimes
wonder if it isn't the hard-nosed modern
farmer who has been stupid and the
Amish who have been smart. You haven't
heard of many Amish being driven off the
farm in the last few years.
The Amish have managed to resist the
pressure to conform to society (although
you could argue that they are actually
conforming to their own society) while the
rest of us continue to jump onto the
newest fad as if it was the answer to all
our troubles. Pushed by slick advertising
and images portrayed in movies and
television we run after the latest con-
sumer gadget to make our lives eternally
happy. Funny thing Is, we never seem to
get any happier. Has the microwave oven
really been the answer to all that troubles
the modern housewife? Has a CB radio in
the tractor really made a farmer closer to
farmers' heaven?
One thing being in business did for me
in my personal life is that I now tend to
look at everything as if it was a business
decision. What return on investment will I
get from this new purchase? Are the hours
of freedom it will buy, or the hours of
entertainment, really worth the price. Fun-
ny thing is, most of the things aren't.
That's why my family is so hopelessly
deprived. Just ask my kids. El
Keith Roulston has been writing this
column since 1977 and is the originator
and former publisher of The Rural Voice.
He has written several successful plays
and is connected with the Blyth Summer
Festival. He lives with his family near
Blyth
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THE RURAL VOICE, AUGUST 1983 PG. 39