UPN has decided to run a reality show where they will send Amish teens to California where we are supposed to be entertained by their culture shock. Now, besides the fact that pretty much anyone from rural America is going to feel out of place walking down Rodeo Drive, why exactly do they assume that Amish people never go to big cities or that they would "be freaked out by what they see"? Come on, it sounds like Les Moonves and the folks at UPN thought the joke about the Amish guy and the elevator was real.
The Amish, being Anabaptist and all that, already have a time in which their teens explore the wonders of "English" culture. It's called the rumspringe (sp?) or "running around." I remember reading an article in my local paper, the Lancaster Sunday News (smack dab in the heart of Amish Country, PA) about Amish teens busted for being in a drug ring. They're not that innocent (arghh - I just quoted Britney Spears).
I don't think that the running around time is an Anabaptist thing, I think it's just an Amish thing. Various relatives of mine come from other Anabaptist traditions (some of my mom's aunts and uncles are Mennonite, my grandmother grew up Plain Brethren), and none of those groups have similar customs.
Sorry, that wasn't very clear. I think you're right about the running around being exclusively Amish. But the reasoning behind it (not being able to join the church until a certain age of responsibility, and once in, not being able to leave) extends beyond the Amish into other Anabaptist traditions. So I was assuming that they might have something at least similar, depending on how conservative they are.
Posted by: Evan Donovan at Enero 23, 2004 01:46 PM