"...so it is conceivable that community centers for internet access could become an acceptable method for the Amish to use modern media, but this simply may not be an option if it conflicts with the viewpoints of this unique community."
I applaud the consideration of culture in this discussion. Lest I go overboard on my own personal experience - I will open to say I was raised Mennonite - one of the closest (but more "modern") cousins to the Amish. I grew up in Wayne County, Ohio, just north of Holmes County - the Ohio version of Lancaster, PA. And I'll admit I've only been apart of this list for a week, but in all discussions of communities, pathways of information play an important part of its structure. For example, Mennonites - and from what I understand Amish - have a closed to tight knit community. Leadership of that community can often be based on "Life Experience" - that is - the elders lead the way based on their experience and lessons taught to them by their elders. Hence you have a top down information flow of culture and ideas. This is obviously not one of the Internet - where it's very much sideways and even bottom up in some cases (blogs - companies hiring blogs complaining about products to help vet their product research...) After all, culture is very much identity - and the stories that go along with it. Technologies, such as the Internet - can cut two ways - and often do both. They can compliment traditional knowledge/culture/stories - but they can disrupt and challenge this same traditional knowledge by injecting an overwhelming number of new and conflicting ideas at the same time. For the Amish in Lancaster - as they are sewing their beautiful quilts (often as important as the conversation between the ladies that occurs over a quilt's many month construction), making their hardwood furniture that can last a lifetime - I question the reality of getting a sort of Internet café in their community. There are simply too many free thinkers/thought/ideas on the net for the elders to handle (not necessarily the kids). It couldn't be filtered (think of the Chinese here...) unless it was solely an intranet. "As Amish people reach adulthood, they have the option of leaving the Amish community rather than become adult members. Adult Amish people who do not follow the ways of the Amish faith are shunned, a very serious loss of the entire community fellowship and support." Correct in observation... but what of reality? Here I think (to go so bold as to gently be cross with my heritage) is that Mennonites and Amish feel they give people a choice about joining the larger world or staying within it. But really, that's hardly the case. I feel letting Amish (or Mennonites in a looser sense) out into the world to "choose" is like keeping a pet monkey or something in a cage its whole life, and then offering it to live in the wild or back in its cage. This sounds like a noble choice, but ignores whether that monkey knows how to feed itself and what to be afraid of in terms of predators. That - I don't think - is a fair choice. Besides, - on a light note - I think the Amish would have to work out their whole "hook and eye" vs. button argument before they get into computers telecommunications. (Some think buttons are sinful - should we talk about connection speeds then? 200k is ok but 1mg is sinful???) OK - so I didn't solve the digital divide with this - but hopefully brought some of the complexities to light. Simply put, think of content and its meaning to the audience too. Or put it another way - what does a farmer in Kentucky want to know about? The USDA, the tobacco buyout and cattle futures? My question is then to the DDN - what do those in Iraq want to know about? Chris Christopher Miller Research and Legislative Analyst ConnectKentucky Phone: 270-781-4320 Cell: 270-799-0870 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.connectkentucky.org ConnectKentucky is a division of The Center for Technology Enterprise, Inc. -----Original Message----- From: David P. Dillard [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, May 09, 2005 10:16 AM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: RE: [DDN] Digital Divide One example of the religious divide in my locale is the Amish population in the Lancaster County area of the state of Pennsylvania and there are Amish populations in other states in the United States as well. This is a digital divide that occurs out of beliefs rather than economic disadvantage. The schooling of the Amish is in private Amish schools. As Amish people reach adulthood, they have the option of leaving the Amish community rather than become adult members. Adult Amish people who do not follow the ways of the Amish faith are shunned, a very serious loss of the entire community fellowship and support. The Amish life is an agrarian one with some related trades practiced including the production of craft items for sale. Motor vehicles and electricity are not a part of the acceptable culture of the Amish. When necessary, the Amish will ride on public conveyances, so it is conceivable that community centers for internet access could become an acceptable method for the Amish to use modern media, but this simply may not be an option if it conflicts with the viewpoints of this unique community. I thought that this might be a useful example to illustrate the concept of religious digital divide found in the post below mine. I stand to be corrected regarding any and all comments as these comments come from my own personal experience of the Amish from personal reading and observations during visits to Lancaster County. Sincerely, David Dillard Temple University (215) 204 - 4584 [EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/net-gold> <http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/davidd.html> <http://www.kovacs.com/medref-l/medref-l.html> <http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/net-gold.html> <http://www.LIFEofFlorida.org> World Business Community Advisor <http://www.WorldBusinessCommunity.org> ===================================================== On Fri, 6 May 2005, Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: > Another word on this matter of romanticizing the "community." > To the list of "divides" that now includes the "digital divide" we might add > the "ethnic divide," the "religious divide," and a larger list that embraces > these that might be called the "cultural divide." > In Iraq, for example, to take an obvious case, who represents the > "community," and speaks for it: those who voted in the recent election or > those who want to kill them for doing so? > And it is not clear--to me, at least--that if we had a thousand telecenters > in Iraq that the other divides would shrink. > None of this should limit our efforts to shrink the digital divide. But it > might limit our claims for what computers and communication can do about the > other divides. > Steve Eskow > [EMAIL PROTECTED] =============================================== <snip> _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
