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Mission
About
me
About us
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About us
This
country is more diverse in its population than ever. It is also more polarized
than ever. People tend to want to live among people just like themselves,
a sort of self-segregation. Bill Bishop talks about why this is happening
in his book: The
Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded American is Tearing Us Apart
The way I read Bishop's book is a warning that when we seek to increase peace among ourselves, we risk increasing conflict with others.
We are aware of the negative side effects of isolating ourselves from the world and consider it a temporary goal, a milestone on our journey towards world peace. It all begins with peace within ourselves and among ourselves.
Our
Religious Life
We recognize that disagreement is how we learn and grow. Nothing unites
people more than their religion. Nothing divides people more than their
religion.
Our religion is one of the things that unite us while we respect that others might have other views. While we build our community, we deliberately seek out people who already agree with us. We don't try to convert anyone or convince anyone that our way is better.
Our
Community
Community is all important to us. This is where we get our strength.
Why
do we Dress the Way we do?
No one is
forced to dress a certain way. We tend to favor solid colors and pastels.
We avoid flashy colors like red, yellow or orange. It has to do with humility.
Most of us cut our hair, but keep a simple hair style.
We have not selected a distinctive clothing item, but we probably should. It will help in group identification and set us apart from others. It should be recognizable but practical. Amish men wear straw hats and women wear prayer caps. It works for them. It could work for us.
Do
we use Technology?
Yes, but with caution. We recognize that science and technology can do
wonderful things to keep us clothed, sheltered and fed, but we must keep
in mind not to become slaves of technology. We must remain in control.
We do have TV sets, but not radios in our homes and they are not connected
to the outside world. We only watch pre-recorded programs most of which
we produce ourselves.
We do have telephones and cell phones, but keep them outside our homes. We use them only for emergencies. Our communities are close-knit and it is just better to go visit instead. We do that constantly.
We use electricity, but it is our goal to disconnect from the public grid and produce our own energy or simply use less.
We use all the latest farming technologies, but avoid all known toxins. We want to keep ourselves and the ones around us as healthy as possible. We would also like to leave the environment a little better than we found it.
We do encourage our young people to go out into the world to seek knowledge at colleges and universities, but lay the foundation in our own home schools and try to avoid public schools whenever possible. We hope they will return and teach what they've learned.
