Chapter 22

I think the last chapter was a wonderful close to the book. It demonstrated that you can take your principals and beliefs with you and share them with those who are willing to listen. You may find others that have the same interests and together you can strengthen and open the eyes of others. The values that Eric and Mary took with them from the Minimites are being passed on to their children in a way that compromises with the rest of their community. They do not go to extreme, but have a happy medium that suits their needs and does well for them. They have found their own success and realized that you do not always have to follow... you can learn and take what you want and customize it to fit your needs and the lifestyle that agrees with you.

Chapter 21

Clearly, my assumptions were wrong! Eric and Mary have realized that they have learned what they came there to learn and have other goals they wish to accomplish. Staying there would not allow for this to take place. They have finally come to a true understanding about the life of these Minimites and can make sense of all their reasoning and intentions. Eric has decided that the amount of technology needed is only what the Minimites have come to use and perhaps even less than that. I still beg to differ from a personal standpoint, but thats just my opinion. So much more efficiency could be achieved, but I suppose that is not of importance to those in this community. I am glad Eric and Mary are returning home and think they have learned all there is to learn from the Minimite society.

Chapter 12

The dating game describes a very traditional, conservative way that young unmarried guys and girls are allowed to interact in. It’s kind of cute how the guys are so bashful, and they have to go through all the trouble of requesting permission in writing from the girl’s parents to be able to see the girl, and then go on visits…it sounds like such a pain though! They probably must be so happy once the parents and the girl accept them, that they wouldn’t even think of pursuing another girl, which is probably not allowed in the community, given the zero divorce rate. This protective environment the Minimites created for their children is one of the main reasons why most of them decided to adopt this lifestyle. I wonder if these marriages are indeed happy ones since it sounds like the two are pretty inexperienced when it comes to knowing what they want or look for in a relationship. What happens if they get married and realize they are not suited for each other, since as mentioned in the text, once there is mutual acceptance the marriage happens pretty quickly. On the other hand, they have been raised to be religious and obedient (maybe that is partly they don’t get divorced). However, this is their culture, and they seem to have found a way to make it work.

Chapter 20

Well Eric and Mary have finally given up one of the last things that have kept them from being apart of the inner circle of this society.... the car. I was surprised that they has given it up so easily and not put very much thought into it. It was more than just giving up the car, it was about submitting to the lifestyle completely. It was a step that brought them closer to the community and gave a hint to us that they would remain there for the foreseeable future. I wasn't expecting this at all especially since Mary was able to pick anywhere she liked to move after the journey was complete. With the giving up of the car and the purchasing of the house it is obvious that they have decided to stay for a bit longer.

Chapter 19

G. K. Chesterton's was quoted in this chapter for saying "The woman does not work because the man tells her to work and she obeys. On the contrary, the woman works because she has told the man to work, and he hasn't obeyed." I cracked up when I read this line and found it to be so true. When I think about my mom and our household of six, she is definitely the Alpha parent. Although she is much more passive than my step-father, she is the rule making, trend setter, and enforcer. When things need to get done it is never my step-father asking her to do something, but rather her making sure he does what she asks of him. When it comes to raising the children and running the house, he dares not pretend like he has a say. She leaves the bills and working to him and he leaves the house and kids to her. It seems to suit them as well and winds up working out to all of our benefit. If certain things were left up to my step-father we would probably have eaten grilled steak 5 nights a weeks. There would be less structure, less rules, but more work. Mom tends to keep things well rounded and ensures that there is even responsibility on all of our parts and that each of us contributes to the household and stays on top of our studies and extra curricular activities.

Chapter 18

Eric stated in the beginning of that chapter that he was excited about the birth, because it meant a change from the daily activities was about to take place. I got to thinking... is this why in the olden days women had so many children? One to stir things up and create something different and two to help take care of the house and work needs? Were children brought into this Minimite world for reasons other than to have the joy of one person from the joining of a husband and a wife? Of course it is not the case with Eric and Mary, but perhaps the number of children a couple decides to have in the Minimite community has more to do with factors that aren't considered in modern day society.

Chapter 17

Well it finally seems as though Eric is breaking. This once radiant and interesting life is becoming a chore. His tone has also changed and it is more gloomy then ever before. It seems as though he feels stuck... not moving forward, not moving backward, just the same everyday. I think everything that was new and undiscovered is now losing its excitement as the weeks go on. It feels as though Eric is almost beginning to dread the daily tasks, because nothing changes. Work, work, work everyday. You can't take a vacation and you certainly can't stop or slow down unless you want twice as much to do the next day. This once comparison to a mundane 48 week work schedule is looking not so much different, in fact in my eyes its worse and maybe Eric is beginning to sense this as well.

Chapter 16

Even with $1000 for their pumpkins, this hardly seems enough. This money is suppose to allow Mary and Eric to pay for their rent for the coming months. Although there are able to work for their rent, doesn't that take away time from other duties? Will their crops suffer if Eric is being forced to work his rent off at the Miller's? In order to take advantage of this wouldn't one want to specialize in one area so that they may become more efficient and therefore receive more money for less hours? Wouldn't this then lead to a completely different system where people specialized in what they were best at to yield the highest good for the greatest number of people? Why would one want to be able to pay for a lifestyle only working with their bare hands? Not only will this cause greater wear and tear on the body, it must shorten the longevity of life. Won't they begin to age more quickly due to the stress they have placed on their bodies? What happens when they can no longer physically meet the demands necessary to stay afloat? Must you have children so that they may take care of you once you become to old to work? What is to happen to Eric and Mary once they have their first child? Mary will need assistance around the house and have less time for cooking and bottling and preserving foods if she is tending to a newborn.

Chapter 15

Something that just hit me was a previous comment made by one of the members of the community referring to the rest of the world as lazy. From one perspective, yes, we probably exert less physically effort than during any time in previous history. On the other side we also use our brains more than any other time period in history. I think we have just made a switch from using physical labor to accomplish tasks to using our minds to accomplish tasks. One could argue that these Minimites are lazy thinkers. They would rather slave all day and do manual labor than to use their heads to think of an easier way. Would they not know what to do with themselves if it were not for work? Thus far there has been no mention of doing anything for leisure. Everything has a purpose, even going to the watering hole... to cool the body off from a long hit day. If they had time for themselves, would they not know what to do with it? Who chooses to physically work for 14 hours a day just to be able to put fresh food on the table.

To me this lifestyle is mundane and intellectually unrewarding. It may be nice to have a fresh nice meal after planning and farming year round, but at want point does the need for self actualization take precedent over the need for simplicity? I am beginning to think that our constant need for growth and accomplishment is trophied by our possessions. It almost seems like benchmarks along the road for our success. There must have been needs that were unfulfilled for us to end up in our current state of being. We once came from this simplistic lifestyle and there is a reason why things didn't remain that way. I guess for some this way of life agrees with them, but for me it would be rather unrewarding.

Chapter 14

One comment I found rather controversial was the thought of the 48 week mundane job that people often get sick of and need to vacation to escape. Isn't this community doing the same job over and over as well? They grow the same crops, they hoe the same land, they have the same weekly chores over and over. Yes the work may happen to be outside or with neighbors, but it is a far longer workday than someone who works a 9-5. Also, if one of the morals of this story thus far has been when you are around friends and neighbors you forget that you are working, wouldn't the same principal apply in other communities? I know that is how I feel when I go to work so why do I have to live a technology free life in order to have the same affect? In addition I would speculate that one trades and makes sacrifices for the things that are important to them. If being able to work, without actually feeling like I was working was important to me then I would stay working as a manager at Blockbuster where things rarely change and all I do is count money and talk with employees. On the other hand if my personal goal are to motivate people in challenging situations, increase performance, and operate a highly forming group of people, this type of job would not be what I seek to be fulfilled. If one has no need for achievement this kind of lifestyle would work for them, but it would also work in a society that uses electric.

Chapter 13

I found it interesting that the community is having issues dealing with the very things that brought them together. Clearly they pride themselves in a simplistic lifestyle without the distractions of machines and technology. To bring forth issues on the telephone seems like a decision that will either open or close other doors in the future. It is obvious that some of them members feel telephone communication is necessary or this would not be an issue. Whats striking to me is that this is the first time in quite a few chapters that I began to think that this society is behind the times rather than ahead of the times. These types of issues are only a gateway for what is to come. If the community eventually gives in to telephones being allowed in the home who knows how far along a computer might be. If they justify the need for the telephone for business purposes, its not going to be long before business strictly operate from online. If the community is pushing for a less strict use on phones its an indication that they are willing to push for change. If the community is pressured by its members it will begin to change and adapt and I think eventually come into a modern day thinking and way of life.

Chapter 12

Meeting the neighbors reinforced the idea that there is more than one way to live this sort of lifestyle. In the beginning I was expecting the members of this society to be more or less the same, have little education, and be unconcerned about events going on in other parts of the country/world. I was happy to find that unlike I suspected, these people aren't ignorant, they have simply chosen a life that is congruent with their belief system and morals. Living a life without technology, does not mean doing things the hard way. This community has simplified their way of life so that it suits them and their needs. Not all goals in life have to revolve around possessions and success (especially in monetary terms). Getting to know the neighbors has emphasized that although they all have similar beliefs, they are still independent people with independent personalities.

Chapter 11

I found it hilarious that the boys and girls attend events to encourage young adults to prepare for marriage. Even though many of them already know each other from school and because the community is so small, I think that the lack of technology actual restricts how well they are able to get to know one another. In today's society the use of e-mail, text messaging, the internet, and cell phones has created endless possibilities for communication. Staying up all night talking to your boyfriend doesn't exist in this society. The use of all these avenues for communication allows for people to actually get to know one another more quickly and less intrusively. I firmly believe that if it wasn't for cell phones and the internet things would be much different in todays young adult dating scene. Gossip spreads 100 times as quickly and reaches more people than we would probably care to acknowledge. This may increase pressures in the dating world, but it sure makes it easy to resolve issues, and stay close even when you are miles apart.

Chapter 10

This chapter was rather uninteresting to me, however I did take one thing from it... The fact that everyone joins together and does manual labor without whining, crying, and complaining is amazing. I know for a fact that if my family was told they were going to help "raise a barn" they would laugh and say "yeah right". Even if my parents managed to get them their all they would do would be to slack off and complain about the heat or that they are tired or thirsty. This kind of behavior almost seems as if it does not exist. Children learn at a very early age that this is the way of life, and there is no questioning it, you just simply do it! Not only did all these people come together and participate without complaining, they all assumed roles and positions that they were capable of. There was something for everyone even for Eric who was a first timer.

Chapter 9

Well I wasn’t prepared for scripture, and this chapter probably could’ve been a little shorter. The long of the short that I got from it was that people are people and even though they are in a much different way of life here, friends are willing to overlook things that they don’t necessarily agree with. The fact that Mary and Eric were anything but Anabaptist has meant little to their development as part of this culture. Still not quite sure what the deal is with the pants and dresses for women. From what I got, fat women should not wear pants. If anyone has any clarification on this it would be much appreciated.

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 ends with the notion that sometimes what you have is better than the possible alternatives. Sometimes one needs a reality check once in awhile and I think the trip that Eric and Mary took was just that. They realized that although they are far from friends and family, they have what they need, great friends to help out, and an easy going way of life. They begin to understand that what they have is truly a gift and that although it seems like life would be much better and easier back in the real world, there are other issues that they would have to face. The perfect place does not exist and they will need to make concessions no matter where they are. Leaving behind this new world they have grown accustomed to will not take away problems, they will simply be faced with different problems.

Chapter 7

The sounds of silence chapter really made me question whether or not I may be missing out on the simple things in life. The comment that struck me most was that as students we are encouraged to be like a machine, memorizing and processing information and storing it as knowledge to be used later. We are so hurried and rushed trying to cram years worth of information into semesters. We sometimes lose site of what it is we are trying to achieve. Taking into consideration Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the ultimate need is for self actualization which does not come from the words on pages we read or the ability to solve a ridiculously hard finance problem, but rather comes from within. Perhaps without all of life’s distraction and the constant need to achieve more and have more we might reach this stage of self actualization much sooner.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 ends with the comment that little by little they began regaining skills that technology had taken from them. Eric and Mary have been so accustomed to having the privilege of storing food in a refrigerator that it never occurred that there would be alternatives. Just because they choose not to use electricity, it does not mean that they must go without saving and storing food. As I mentioned in the previous post, its beginning to occur to Mary and Eric that they can still try and make things easy on themselves while respecting the values of this culture. They do not have to go without in order to fit into this lifestyle. This way of life is not about depriving one’s self of conveniences, but rather not letting technology rule your life.

Chapter 5

Chapter five has an interesting perspective, “When the quantity of machine shrinks, another area of human realization expands: skill.” I think this statement is extremely true. In our world of machines and technology, we don’t have to think, because someone else has already done it for us. If we had to build our own house its not that we couldn’t it is that we choose not too. If we didn’t have access to the resources we have today, we simply would find other means of creating and doing what needs to be done. Sure it would be more difficult and more time consuming, but we would find a way to make it happen. I think that this has its strengths as well as its weaknesses. On a positive note, it’s a way of taking advantage of skills that people have invested lifetimes in without having to take the time to understand how it works on your own. For example, if a clock breaks do we fix it ourselves? Of course not, we take it to someone who specializes in that field so we do not have to waste who knows how much time figuring it out. On the other hand, if we were the builder and sole creator of the clock, we would not need to take it to be serviced, because we know everything about it since it was made with our own two hands. When different people specialize in different things it frees up more time to take part in the things we are interested in. I would much rather pay someone else to fix my car then to build and service my own. Taking advantage of different people’s skills and trading services has led us to a world of endless possibilities. At the same time, people are able to do the things they are good at making it more successful for everyone.

Chapter 4

I found it interesting that Mr. Miller’s answer to why this lifestyle was saving his children. It can definitely be seen even from my childhood to the childhood of my younger brothers and sisters how things have changed. When I was younger, it was unheard of for us not to have dinner as a family. It was a time for everyone to take some part in the preparation, whether it be setting the table or getting the drinks ready. Meal time was not a time for TV, but a time for a recap on everyone busy day and events that were coming up or had taken place. I thought I must have had the cruelest parents in the whole world, because they would not let us have video games, TVs or phones were not permitted in our bedrooms, and everyone had weekly chores. Coming from a wealthy community this was unheard of and we certainly felt deprived. Now that I am older I miss the days when we all went to park together with the dog or went canoeing in the river. When I go back home to visit I find now that everyone is on their own schedule. Those long lost rules that once bound us together are non existent. Not only do game systems appear in every room where there is a TV, four computers often allow for the entire family to be dispersed and never see each other one roof. As my siblings are reaching the driving age, there are days my mom says my brother simply just doesn’t come home. Because there is no longer a requirement that everyone make it to the dinner table together each of them get tangled up in their busy lives of friends, socialization, and drama. The bonds of closeness are widening as the years go by. Is this a result of a change in society as a whole or does it simply come with age, the need to become more independent? Has technology alone driven this move away from the family as a whole, or is it the need for the reliance of one’s self rather than interdependence?

Chapter 3

This chapter begins by commenting on the selfless giving of the neighbors and members of this community. So rarely do we get to experience this kind of giving and when we do we must ask ourselves, okay what’s wrong with those people? If a neighbor happened to bring home some flowers for us or help us with our yard work we would first of all think that they expect something in return, second of all feel obligated to return the favor as if we must may back a debt owed, and third of all realize that without some return there is no way in hell these people would continue to do nice things for you without some return on their investment. We have come to the realization that nothing in life is free and everything comes with a price tag, whether its listening to a friend in a time in need, because she just had you over for a nice dinner, or taking out the neighbors dog while they are out of town, because they took out your dog for you when you were out of town, we give most times because we expect the favor to be returned. This creates an awkward situation if this unspoken contract happens to falter and one person begins giving more than receiving. However, in the book there is no giving with an expectation, it is giving for the good of your fellow human because it’s the right thing to do. This kind of noncompeting lifestyle almost seems too good to be true and causes one to think where did we go astray? The phrase many hands make work light has a new meaning for me. Helping out where your knowledge and expertise can benefit someone else is not an obligation or a payment to a debt that has been incurred. It’s about everyone helping everyone so that together we can all have an easier and lighter load. If we applied this to today’s elf absorbed world, imagine what we could accomplish.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 takes us into this world where technology as we know it has no purpose. What was surprising was that, like the author I was prepared for this lifestyle to be much harder than it seems. I also was anticipating, ignorantly might I add, the people of this group be less intelligent than those from the outside world. I realized that just because their world is not dominated by computers, machines, and electricity it does not mean that they are any less of a human being. Their expertise is instead related to making their way of life as simple and easy as possible. In our world of technology, we tend to replace problems with other problems as Chapter one hinted at. Realistically I think it relates to the adage more money more problems, for our purposes more technology more problems. After finishing this chapter it makes more sense that we have only replaced labor intensive problems with knowledge intensive problems. We still have the same amount if not more problems now as compared to life before technology they have simply just shifted into our new way of life.

Chapter 1

Chapter one set an interesting tone for the book. One particular comment that was made by the author was that in his young adult years, he found himself working to pay for a car in order to get to work. This got me to thinking that the reason we go to school all of our childhood is so that we are equipped to be successful in the work world, even if that means more schooling when we have finished. The reason we go to college is to beat out all of those who did not attend so that we have a better chance of getting a job that we can have a comfortable lifestyle with. We put in all this time and effort so that we are able to live lives of luxury so that we can buy the bigger house, or the better car. If we weren’t constantly striving to have something more, there would be no need to keep pushing the envelope of technology and knowledge.

When you start to think about it at what point as the human race did we decide that competition among our peers was necessary and rewarding if you happened to succeed. When did we decide that it made us feel better to know that we had more than our neighbors and our peers? I suppose it dates back to the theory of survival of the fittest. Although many college students would have no problems finding a mediocre job out of undergrad, we all chose to go that one extra step to graduate school. Why? Who’s to say we couldn’t be just as “happy” being able to just make ends meet and have the necessities of life?