George Leppla wrote:

> > Do you have something against Amish folks? Doing everything the hard
> > way brings them closer to God, or something like that.

> Actually, I lived in Amish country in PA for close to 30 years. Doing
> things for themselves doesn't bring them closer to God, it makes them
> less dependent on other people. You wake up in the morning and find a
> leaky pipe and reach for the phone... they reach for a wrench. That
> doesn't make them Holy... it just makes them more self-sufficient.
>
> You might think that is "doing it the hard way" but they sure don't see
> it that way, and neither do I.

The leaky-pipe example isn't the best one, but I see your point.

I just don't value that old everybody-should-know-how-to-do-everything
ethos. I like the post-industrial marketplace of specialized skills.
Without it, we'd all be FORCED to do everything ourselves. (Note for
Bryan: The divide between rich and poor has been part of human history
since the dawn of civilization. Even communism couldn't overcome it.)