American Experience – The Amish

I watched this 2 hour show on PBS last night about the Amish, who live all around us here in the Appalachians of central Pennsylvania. Of course I thought i knew all about them, but this program kinda blew me away. The part about the infamous Nickel Mine shooting a few years ago brought back bad memories too, but their level of forgiveness was the big story. I did not realize how much their religious beliefs and practices go back to the German Mystics of the Rhineland and to Christian Mysticism in general, a subject i have studied extensively over the decades. Now you may wonder how can a heathen Witch who practices Germanic rune magickes and who is a Vajrayana Buddhist and Shaivite can have sympathy for and even learn from Catholic or Protestant mysticism? Well when you are older and wiser you may understand, with me being older but only a little bit more wiser in all this. In fact this morning i am having somewhat of an Epiphany about the subject. All i can say about the Amish around me is that they are Good People. Here is a link to a part of this show on PBS below, and it can be bought on DVD also.