On the topic of Amish money:
The Amish are LOADED. They work for an honest day's pay, but they spend it on nothing. Nothing appeals to them.
Television and entertainment : The Amish aren't against it, persay - they just think it's stupid. Even kids don't get half the shit on TV or the radio, and no one really cares. Take a step back and look at how much stupid shit is on TV. 99% of it is lies, even the news programs. The Amish read a lot, and they watch news just to see whats going on.
Cars: The Amish own cars. trucks, mostly. They own the trucks to do things that the horses can't do, or shouldn't be bothered doing. Horses are a prefered mode of transportation, but more precisely are viewed as more valuable and respectable than to be complete beasts of burden. Amish horses are VERY well cared for, and live better than you or I or even some Amish do.
Computers: The Amish run businesses. Almost all of them are held together by commerce. They use computers for a brief period everyday to do their record keeping, webpage management and planning. They are limited in time not by any culture, but because they are run by Generators.
Lights: The Amish have electricity in the home, but it's not like there are outlets in every room. They have electricity where it is needed (like .. say.. bird incubators) but for lights they usually run oil fired lamps. Both out of convenience and by the fact that come night fall, they are really fucking tired and they tend to go to bed.
Social principles: Women don't vote. Men do, but not often. They live outside of the government rules of Zoning, marriage, abortion, and whathave you. So their vote doesn't matter at all. Women haven't complained about this condition primarily because they really don't care. And neither do men. They may have re-written the books since I lived with them, but chances are they haven't. Girls wear dresses because it's easier to wear dresses and do their "women's work". It gets hot, they prefer dresses. There is no rule stating that they can't wear pants. They just don't want to. Just like there are no rules that english men can't wear dresses. They just don't want to.
Amish men wear suspenders, and not belts, but I have no clue why. I think it's just another of those things. The Amish own belts, I own amish belts. It's just not stylish, I guess.
An elder mentioned something to me about not wearing a mustache because of something that Hitler did. I don't believe it though, because they pulled my leg quite a bit. So I have no clue why most men don't have mustaches. More and More amish aren't wearing beards at all lately. Goatees are just considered sloppy and in poor taste.
The Amish don't like being photographed. They will come out and yell at you for photographing their kids. This is just a parental thing. It has nothing to do with that "cameras steal our souls" bullshit. Not even the Amish believe that. They just don't appreciate people coming around and photographing them anymore than you would. If you ask an Amish gentleman (Gentleman only) if you can have your picture taken with him for a souvenir he will gladly oblige.
And I say "Gentleman only" because the women don't speak for the family. that's about the only social injustice going on there. The men make the call, not the women. The women make a more important call: They decide on matters of their family. What people will eat, what chores they get, and how they are raised. They are mostly glad to give up the responsibility of showing out-of-towners around the farm. But I know many Amish families that speak to me freely and openly - they like me because I learned to respect them at an early age. In fact, they mostly remember me from many many years ago.
I give them rides into town. If it's too hot for the horses, or the ride has to be made quickly (We're outta Talcum there young feller) then I'll give them a ride into town. They have no licences because it's worthless to get one. Several of them do have licences to drive.
the Amish are Dutch. They speak Dutch mostly. I'm half Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a mild off-shoot culture of bible-belt americana. Our accent is half Northerner, half "Boomhower from King of the Hill" and if you've spoken to me in person you can hear my Pennsylvania Dutch come out.
Menonites are different, but are often considered similar because of their close location to the Amish. I think the Menonites are very different. I know nothing official about the Menonites outside of "You better not date mah daughter" type of shit.
Education: The Amish are very intelligent. They aren't going to be taking the Fields Award in Mathematics anytime soon, but they know forestry, husbandry, arborism, and natural sciences well enough to be professors at universities.
Friendliness: The Amish that you see at the tourist joints are completely full of shit. They are friendly so you'll drop a quarter and be on your way. REAL amish are genuinely friendly, and enjoy talking to you all day to share ideas and conversations. You'll rarely be in an area to "run into" genuine Amish folks unless you're GPS unit has lead you 100s of miles astray from the highway. You'll also bump into them if you're into Windmills, or know a good guide to the backwoods to get you into their lairs. The Meyersdale Windfarms in Pennsylvania are setup in the middle of Amish country.
When I returned to the amish in 2003, I had my 91 Civic hatch. I pulled into town and believe me - I was the ONLY motherfucker around with an import car. When I rolled into town everyone looked at me like I was from the future. Airjockie's Konig Heliums looked like wagon wheels to them (The kids loved it) and they had trouble understanding how I saw out of my windows. They also marvelled at how small it was and how it made their chest rumble. It was a hoot. Mark, the leathersmith, asked me what kind of car it was. I said "It's a Honda" "Honda oh ? Who makes that , Ford or Chevy?"
I love that town