Amish Values: Aren't They Interesting?

Quote of the day:
“I hope they stay around here, and they’ll have a lot of friends and a lot of support.”
--Daniel Esh, an Amish artist, woodworker and great-uncle to three of the children in the Pennsylvania school when Charles Roberts attacked. Esh was speaking of Roberts’ family.

We read about the forgiveness being extended to a Pennsylvania murderer and his family from the Old-Order Amish community, and we have a variety of responses. When we examine these responses, we likely wind up at one of two places. Either we say “these people are quaint,” which means we can’t relate to their behavior, or we say “these people are deluded,” which means they are not part of the “real” world.

We may also assume that, for them, forgiveness is easier than it would be for any “normal person” (like us). That is not true. Forgiveness is always extremely difficult. The Old-Order Amish families and community have to deal with the same extraordinary pain and anger that any other families or communities would deal with facing this horrible crime. But the Old-Order Amish have a way to deal with these powerful emotions. That is what we see right now.