I Ask an Amish Guy about Everything

**Andrew Heaton** (0:00)
At first, it's just dresses and trousers drawing on wash lines, gently swaying in the sun like linen prayer flags. Other than that, no different than any other pleasant rural town we might cruise through in small town America. But then, we spot a guy on a tractor with a flat straw hat and an auspicious Abe Lincoln beard. We see what appears to be a pioneer woman riding a bicycle. And finally, as we crest the hill, we pass an honest-to-God horse and buggy. And for a moment, just a moment, you think, did we time travel? Are we back in the 1850s? Where are we going to find enough plutonium to get back to the future so we can water our house plants? But it's not time travel, of course. You and I are puttering through Hulandburg County, Ohio, Amish country. And the next time we pass a horse and buggy, we cautiously wave. And the man driving it, who has huge hands, huge hands, smiles and waves back. Shortly followed by another horse and buggy, two bonneted women, young and old. And they're laughing. They're having a great time. And it makes you think, when's the last time you saw someone that happy driving a Honda Civic to the office? Come to think of it, when's the last time you commuted to work without a million things on your mind, cluttering your internal to-do list? When's the last time you stood in line at the grocery store or on an escalator without reflexively reaching for your smartphone? When you do that, do you feel lighter? Do you feel happier?
We pass a final horse and buggy before pulling into the parking lot of the kitchen. A whole family is in that buggy out to lunch, and everybody seems cheerful, unburdened.
I don't get the impression that these folks behind that trotting Clydesdale spend a lot of time doom-scrolling in bed.
And it makes you wonder, are these weirdos on to something? Are the Amish really backwards? Or have they figured something out?
We are going to Amish country today, right here on The Political Orphanage.
Hello, and welcome to The Political Orphanage. If you are a curious person who would rather explore the world than fight your neighbors, welcome home. I'm your intrepid host, Andrew Heaton. Join today in our wholesome travel odyssey by my ornery dog, Wallace. If you're like me, you are weirdly fascinated with the Amish, that quirky subculture of American religions which eschews things like smartphones, cars, and even buttons. And then there's that Rumspringa thing. Have you ever heard about that Rumspringa? Rumspringa is when the Amish send their sheltered rural children out into the world to be tempted by it for a year, so that they can come back and make an informed decision about whether to return to butter churning and prayers or get jobs as telemarketers and join a polycule. Or at least that is how it is portrayed in media. It's one of many things that I will interrogate the Amish about today. By the end of this episode, you will not only know everything about the Amish you ever wanted to know, I think you'll really like them. Enjoy.
My guest today is Marcus Yoder. He is the executive director of the Amish and Mennonite Center of Millersburg, Ohio. Where am I?

**Marcus Yoder** (4:19)
Yeah, you are in Millersburg. Actually, you're closer to Berlin.

**Andrew Heaton** (4:22)
Okay.

**Marcus Yoder** (4:22)
And you're geographically almost centrally located in the middle of the second largest Amish community in the world.

**Andrew Heaton** (4:29)
I believe that. I drove in today from New Castle, Pennsylvania, and first started seeing an inordinate amount of clothes that were hung out to dry.

**Marcus Yoder** (4:39)
Yeah.

**Andrew Heaton** (4:39)
And then started seeing ladies with the white bobs, and then started seeing guys that kind of had like Abraham Lincoln beard.

**Marcus Yoder** (4:45)
That's right.

**Andrew Heaton** (4:47)
And then had a very hearty lunch, and now find myself here. So I'm here amongst the Amish. So let's nail down some terms quickly, because we're at the Amish and Mennonite Center. So are, is Mennonite just Amish light? Are they part of the same family? Are they warring tribes of Amish people?

**Marcus Yoder** (5:04)
We're theologically the same group.

**Andrew Heaton** (5:07)
Okay.

**Marcus Yoder** (5:07)
So we're known as Anabaptists, is the general name for our group. Not anti-Baptists, we're not against it.
It comes from early modern times when most of the world were baptized as infants and we came along and said, no, we need to baptize adults.

**Andrew Heaton** (5:25)
Right.

**Marcus Yoder** (5:25)
So again, baptizers.

**Andrew Heaton** (5:27)
Okay.