Something is rotten in Denmark. In an age of near-instantaneous access to place and substance, and an over-abundance of people sharing their amazing experiences with it, people in America report being less happy, taking longer to form families, and an overall feeling that something is wrong. By contrast, the Amish, living on the very same land as most other Americans, report being the happiest in the country while completely rejecting the social and technological norms of those around them. According to an article in Quartz, “When sociologists were really diving into the Amish culture in the 1960s and 1970s, 75% of Amish children would decide to become Amish adults. The most recent statistics show that 95% are now choosing to join the Amish Church.” Clearly the “English”, as the Amish still refer to the Americans around them, are doing it wrong.
The Myth of the 20th Century – Episode 146 – The Amish – Living Plain
— References —
– Witness, Weir (1985)
– A Mortgage Banker In Amish Country, Davidson (2008) – https://www.npr.org/2008/12/12/98156907/a-mortgage-banker-in-amish-country
– Success Made Simple, Wesner (2010)
– Hardcore History 48 – Prophets of Doom, Carlin (2013) – https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-48-prophets-of-doom/
– The Amish understand a life-changing truth about technology the rest of us don’t, Coren (2018) – https://qz.com/1275194/the-amish-understand-a-life-changing-truth-about-technology-the-rest-of-us-dont/
– How Long Until We’re All Amish?, Stone (2018) – https://medium.com/migration-issues/how-long-until-were-all-amish-268e3d0de87
– Use of technology by different Amish affiliations – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish#Use_of_technology_by_different_Amish_affiliations
Myth of the 20th Century 
Palatinate, Swabian and Swiss German Protestant 17th-18th Century settlement in the Mid-Atlantic (Amish, and non-Amish Protestant PA Dutch and Valley Dutch in northern VA ) had a more significant impact on the development of the US than acknowledged. Eisenhower and I believe Herbert Hoover, among others descended from this group. Thomas Sowell is actually one of the only notable people who has pointed out the unique nature of German settlement all over the world.
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Honest question, why do you guys keep Hank around? The dude’s a long-winded moron who can’t go seven words without uttering “like” nor make a cogent point. “Well, like, I don’t mean to make a libertarian point about pacifism, buuuut, like…” then STFU about libertarianism then if you’re not looking to make a point about it.
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Seriously, Hank, shut the fuck up.
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And yes, I’ve donated, so I’ll bitch if I want to.
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He’s their token Autist.
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I don’t think the point about how many Amish stay Amish is relevant. How many Non-Amish remain Non-Amish? You don’t see 5% of the English joining up with the Amish.
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