Opinion & Comment

Don't blame the Amish . . .

APPALACHIAN NOTEBOOK - Steve Oden

“The Amish are taking over this country!” declared a caller to my office.

He was angry, almost sputtering.

“They are driving up property values, buying all this land at above-market prices. Do they pay all the school taxes? No! Look what happened last week with the buggy wreck! It ain’t safe to drive around here any more. When are folks going to do something about the Amish?”

Indeed, I thought. When are people going to realize that these gentle folks don’t tear down rural communities? Rather, they help restore and reinforce the traditions of our forefathers… things we seem to be slowly forgetting.

Across Appalachia and Mid-America, the Amish are spreading. From Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Holmes County, Ohio, Amish families are establishing communities in other states: Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana… wherever fertile small-holdings are available, where they can till the soil, raise livestock, and ply their crafts and labor skills.

Even Wisconsin has lured the Amish. But this liberal, left-leaning state is not immune to the prejudice demonstrated by my Appalachian caller.

On a recent two-week visit to Madison to attend classes at the University of Wisconsin, I followed a debate in the “Wisconsin State Journal” about the growing Amish presence in the Badger State.

The origin of the controversy, not surprisingly, can be traced to the Wisconsin General Assembly where state representatives have introduced a “buggy tax.” All horse-drawn conveyances – buggies, wagons, and farm implements – will be assessed a $40 annual levy if the measure passes.

Proponents assert that taxing the Amish is a hot-button issue with voters, a strange view given that Wisconsin currently is embroiled in political scandal involving corrupt politicians and misuse of public funds, in addition to controversy over a proposed mandate to force small businesses to provide paid sick leave for employees.

Rather than address these issues, certain lawmakers seek to force the Amish to ante up for using hay as fuel and adding to the gridlock on rural roadways. Apparently, discontent with the Amish runs deep. The argument could be made that this is a form of modern religious persecution. Who then defends the rights of the Amish to worship and live according to their religious tenants?

First, the Constitution of the United States grants the Amish the same rights claimed by you and I, but thankfully their fellow citizens also have consciences and have rallied to the side of their new neighbors in Wisconsin. Here are a few excerpts that “put the grass down where the goats can get it,” as an old politician acquaintance of mine once said:

“What’s the object of this taxation?” asked one commenter about the proposed buggy levy.

“Why, it’s those plain people dressed in black, out there ripping up the roads – yes, it’s those naughty Amish!”

Tongue firmly in cheek, the writer made the following suggestions:

“Maybe we should go after them for the loss of excise tax revenue potential because the power and phone lines go by their homesteads, but they reject these services. A lantern tax might fit the bill.”

The writer’s capper, however, was unforgettable: “When was the last time you saw the people dressed in black waiting for a handout at the welfare office?”

Indeed, the Amish take care of their own when injury, sickness, or trouble besets them. Thus, they avoid the social services system which our taxes support.

Their buggies and horse-drawn conveyances, properly equipped with head- and tail-lights for nighttime use, hardly strain the rural roadways which they share with tractors, hay bailers, and pickup trucks.

The Amish pay their bills in cash and promptly. They are savers. Just stand at the back of a line of Amish men and women, with open passbooks, on bank day in town.

Shrewd traders and businesspeople, the Amish also give full worth and value for the products and services offered. If they start a job, they finish it. The have pride in workmanship, too.

Amish teach their children the ethic of hard work. It’s in their blood to keep busy. The kids perform chores and contribute their share of labor. The Amish are family- and community-oriented folks. They stand together.

I live amidst several Appalachian Amish communities. The foregoing are my observations, based on study and personal contact. What’s wrong with the Amish? Nothing, I can see. In fact, we “English” might regain some of the traditional values of family, community, and character that have been de-emphasized in recent years by studying these simple people dressed in black.