SO MUCH TO WORK WITH

from the Sunday news

Amish grace
A book takes a behind-the-scenes look at Nickel Mines tragedy a
year later and the soul-searching it took for a people to forgive what seems
unforgivable.
By JON RUTTER, Staff writer Sunday News

Published this month by Jossey-Bass, "Amish Grace: How Forgiveness
Transcended Tragedy" is both lyrical and empirical in its
analysis.

Empirical my rear end! None of the statements of forgiveness made by the Amish has been given the barest minimum of rational review. Ie; when was it said, what was the context in which it was said, who said it, and what is the historical context that influenced the speakers use of the word. It's not surprising that the Amish used the word, but the association and meaning the non-Amish community attributes to that use, is demeaning, abusive, and farcical.

Their gentle response to unprecedented carnage was thus sincere and
instinctive, said Kraybill, an Elizabethtown College sociology professor and
nationally known expert on the Amish.

Why doesn't Kraybill talk about how the Amish response is inherently and inextricably intertwined with their co-dependent relationship with the protective authority of the U.S. Government. How would we view their passivity in the absence of that protection, Ie; If Roberts were to come back the next day and the next day, and the next day, and repeat what he did on the first day, and they would still just forgive him, would we still be impressed?

Amish people believe in justice and punishment but reserve the
authority to discipline their own wayward church members, the authors write:

This is incoherent gibberish, something one might expect from myself. What the hell are they saying?

What would have happened if George Bush had been Amish?" The
question is simplistic, Nolt asserted. "If George Bush had been Amish, he
wouldn't have been president."

The relevant question is; How can supporters of our President's policy of preemption look upon Amish forgiveness with anything other than disgust and disdain?

But it does provide a vantage point from which to view modern culture
and to ponder changing it for the better

As I've posted before; modern culture is worth trying to improve, the Amish? "fa get a bout it" they're on their own.