Not a criticism (I respect the heck out of the Amish), but how did they get to DC? Are they allowed to ride on buses, trains and airplanes (and just not own them)? I think in the movie “Witness” the female lead and her movie son arrived in Philly by train, but that’s a movie, not reality, so I am curious about the ground rules.
And kudos to Trump for having them come by. As an added bonus, those lousy jerk weeds who’ve been trying to drive a wedge between the evangelicals and DJT have to be going absolutely apespit when the read the laudatory things religious people as decent and sincere as those visitors had to say about our President.
Here they ride to work in large vans that they hire to transport the work crews. One of the furniture companies that hired them used to send out vans to pick them up and take them home. They have phones in the barns, if the Bishop allows it.
Yes. I’m not sure if they can drive, but they can have non Amish drive them.
I’ve been around the Amish people most of my life - they are allowed by their traditions to utilize some modern conveniences but not own them or keep them in their homes. I’ve seen many Amish that have cell phones but do not keep them in their homes, they will put them in a shed or such and retrieve it when they go about their day of work.
A good friend of mine is ex Amish. He’s now a born again Christian. He told me that the rules are very flexible and are set by the local bishop.
They can ride but not drive. I know Amish builders who own trucks and hire drivers.
There are all kinds of workarounds.
Some friends and I were talking last night about how the Amish delivered Pennsylvania for trump.
I don’t know about Ohio Amish, but in NE Iowa, there are two kinds-the regular Amish, the guys who built Amana Industries, and the Old Order Amish. The regular guys don’t mind using some modern tools, in particular those related to raising livestock and crops, and preserving them (hence Amana refrigerators). It’s real easy to tell when you drive through an Old Order area. There are no power or phone lines. That’s where you also find these little Amish “convenience” stores, where the locals sell their excess produce and simple goods to each other and the lucky tourists who find one.
This area is quite different from the Amana Colonies tourist area found near Iowa City. That’s nice to visit, but not very Amish. Just south of there is a large Mennonite community with the best bakeries ever.
Most Amish I know have people outside their tradition thT they pay to transport them over long distances.... often mennonites, but sometimes just local Christians or work acquaintences