NEED A GREAT, EXPERIENCED ENGLISH TEACHER OR PERSONAL TUTOR? Contact Teacher Jack!
[Convenient New Feature: ARCHIVE of All Articles]
NATIONAL CELLPHONE ALERT TEST EXPOSES AMISH MEN
Recently, cellphones across the US rang loudly as the government tested its emergency alert network. If you were in the US with your phone turned on and connected to the Internet, you received an emergency alarm.
It was all part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA's) nationwide test. The horrendous screeching sound was enough to scare nearby dogs.
In some cases, though, the system worked too well. Consider the Amish.
The Amish are a traditional Christian church group whose members seek to live without modern conveniences. For the truly strict Amish, that means no cars, tractors, or even electricity. And, absolutely no cell phones.
Some Amish men, unfortunately, are now in hot water with their community because, when the FEMA cellphone emergency alarm began, it could be heard blasting out from multiple Amish farms.
Some Amish men had secretly acquired cellphones, and they went off at the same time, as every other phone in the country.
Since the Amish do not follow the news, the phones’ owners had no idea the alarm was about to happen.
As a result, they were outed by the test and have now been officially shunned by their fellow Amish. They must now work to make amends for their “sin” in order to be re-accepted by their strict, religious community
But how did those Amish men manage to get the cell phones? Surely someone in their community would have noticed if they had rolled up to a T-Mobile store in a horse-drawn buggy.
Well, where there’s a will, there’s a way. The most common method is for the Amish to ask one of the community’s ex-members—those who were previously expelled—to get them phones.
One of those ex-members is Eli Yoder. The ex-Amish man has helped several of his former brothers to buy phones.
“Over the years, there have been quite a few Amish men that have reached out and wanted phones. So, whenever they request to have a phone, I will do everything I can to try to get them a phone,” Yoder said.
Following the FEMA test, however, Yoder got some unpleasant news.
“Three of [my friends] replied back to me today and said, ‘Hey, I am going to have to lay low for a while. I just got shunned,’” said Yoder.
One Amish man definitely found himself in an embarrassing situation. The community elders had come to his house to discuss shunning someone else when his own secret phone started blaring.
What exactly does “shunning” mean? Shunning is one of the most serious punishments the Amish can give to a member.
To the Amish, family and community are the centers of their lives. They do many things together as a group, such as working their farm fields, building houses and barns, and gathering for church.
Shunning cuts that link between an Amish member and his community. The shunned individual must not do business with other Amish, take rides or eat with them, or even give them gifts. Shunning bans the person from all Amish community activities.
It is very hard to live in an Amish community without the support of others. That is particularly true for the people who have lived the Amish way all their lives.
But, the shunned person is not completely abandoned. Others may still talk to him and will come to his aid if there is a serious emergency.
Shunning does not last forever, either. The shunning period usually lasts for a few weeks, and the shunned person is expected to show contrition for his sin.
The Amish people’s focus on community is also why they ban cell phones. They believe modern technology makes life too easy.
With all our modern conveniences, we do not have to rely on other people as much. To the Amish, that kind of world is no good; they want to keep their communities closely-knit and free of outside influences.
Yet, the Amish are not a single, unified group. Each community has its own rules, and some have accepted a bit of technology into their lives. Some Amish communities do have a telephone...but just one, and it is a communal one.
So, the moral to this story, for Amish men, might be: if you are secretly going to stay in contact with the outside world, pay attention to what is actually going on out there. You never know when the elders might drop by...to discuss shunning!
LEARNING TOOLS
English questions about this article or about English in general?
Ask Teacher Jack at: asktjack1@gmail.com
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PAGES:
Facebook: Full Spectrum English Tutor Teacher Jack
ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW AT
Offbeat English
https://linggle-offbeatenglish.blogspot.com/
COME BACK SOON!
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.FVDQtq2ssHE8lQuh-dJexgHaDt%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=d2fca03de45abf6bebe4d0555e8bdc6e9413bc044186ad67b82068b944370e64&ipo=images
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.pQcGEm2lZfb0841_PikXuAHaEn%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=d7448f83bda9ed107f42d1462098927c300bee3e5ae1e6fee36ff5b27f6298ff&ipo=images