No, the Amish religion is not cute

First of all, as someone who lives in Pennsylvania, this is probably more relevant to me than to most people, but I'll say it anyway; the Amish religion is not cute. Though the people are peaceful, the religion itself is very oppressive, and I honestly don't think anyone should have to live such a strict lifestyle in the 21st century UNLESS they actually choose it for themselves. If someone wants to live off the grid and pretend it's the 1800's, that's fine. But being forced to live in a tight knit community where you're not allowed to enjoy the incredible technology we've come up with in the last hundred years, is completely different.

And I realize that Amish have their "rumspringa" where they allow their children to experience the real world for a couple years, and afterward the children can decide whether or not they want to stay, so they are allowed to leave. However, if you were raised for 20 years to believe that modern technology is evil, and that the Amish lifestyle IS the correct way to live, it's not going to be easy to change your mind. Not to mention, the few people who do leave will have very little experience in the modern world. Imagine learning to drive a car in your 20's, or trying to learn a job that involves any kind of modern technology. This religion (cult might be more appropriate) obviously holds a lot of people back, and I don't think it's fair