Comment on Breaking Amish on TLC by Sara.
I’m not Amish but I did record the first episode after seeing two of the girls on the “Today Show”. I’M afraid to go to New York because of all the people, noise, crime and lack of natural landscape; I can’t imagine going “to the city” and having New York being my first experience. People ARE cruel, life has become too fast paced and I often long for the days from my childhood (I’m 48)when people were kinder, technology hadn’t taken the place of family time and people still cared about other people than just themselves. I have a daughter that just graduated from high school and I shutter thinking about the world my grandchildren will grow up in.
I have to admit that I don’t have much knowledge about the Amish laws and rules; I know they’re very religious, hardworking people who support their community like no other and I admire that so much. So many of us out here take for granted everything God has blessed us with, including our families. I try to remember to thank God everyday for all that he has blessed me with; the sounds of the birds chirping, the sunshine on my face, the daughter he hand picked for me and me alone and helped me know what true love was the day she was born among so many other things. This is where I have questions…
I ask this with the highest respect (and I’ve only gathered this information from the episode of “Breaking Amish” and the 3 or 4 episodes of “Amish: Out of Order” that I’ve seen)but, why is it wrong to show emotion and why do the Amish seem to judge so harshly when life isn’t followed exactly the way they say it should be? Again, I’m asking only out of respectful curiosity, with an open ear and mind so that I may understand. I know that those kids packed their bible when they were leaving; am I assuming correctly that their bible is different from ours and if so, how drastic of a difference is it? I’ve always been taught that we are God’s children and that he’s a loving God. I guess I’ve always just thought that it was God’s place to judge, not ours.
I would be very upset if my daughter was just going to “up and leave” for New York but I thought that (and maybe it differs from one Amish community to another) Amish children, when they become adults, have the choice to spend a year in the English world to decide of they truly want to live in the Amish community. It’s obviously not the case with all so am I under the misconception that this is true? I was also thinking that maybe if they were exposed to some of the English life at a younger age along with the education of the consequences that come from making certain choices, they would truly appreciate the life they have and not feel the need to “eat the forbidden fruit” so to speak. Again, I’m just throwing an idea out there; I obviously know very little about the Amish ways and differences among the separate types of communities which is why I ask.
Bottom line, I feel sorry for those young people who have sacrificed everything in the name of making TLC a profit. When TLC is done, these young people will still be lost. They could have helped guide them instead of throwing them into the lions den but that wouldn’t make good TV I guess; it’s sad.
Thank you 
