Ideological Consistency is Foolish: Amish versus Climate Change Cult Hypocrisy

The county I live in has a large population of Amish people who live in rural communities that are surrounded and mixed with non-Amish people. The Amish own small businesses, work in construction, and sell products at farmers markets. Most of the interactions I've had with Amish people have been commercial in nature: buying stuff they make or sell. Otherwise, I've just observed the general shape of their communities by driving through the country or riding through on my bike.

Any casual observer will notice seeming inconsistency in choices Amish people make about technology. When you go to an Amish business, they'll have a smattering of modern technology mixed with 19th century tech. For example, they might have a credit card machine, a wireless phone or a cell phone, but no electric lights. A farmer might run a hay baler that's pulled by a team of horses, but has a gas engine running the baling mechanism. The inconsistency doesn't seem to comport with a lifestyle that's dictated by a religious creed.

Let's compare that with another religious view and corresponding life choices: climate change worrying. There are millions of people who worry about climate change as frequently as other people say their morning prayers and want something "to be done" (in the passive voice). Yet, at the same time, they'll buy a new car every few years, participate totally in consumer culture, or mow a large lawn for decades.

The Amish's apparent "hypocrisy" seems to stem from making intentional choices about daily life. It seems like they avoid technology that ties them into commercial systems, e.g. electric lighting. If you were to wire a large home for electric lights, the project would probably cost at least $10,000, then you'd be tied into the grid and making a monthly payment for the rest of your life. If you were mindful of the cost of lighting a home, and knew of lower cost options, you might elect to do something different.

If a typical american made a lot of mindful choices like that--emphasizing freedom, leisure, community, or health over comfort or paper money the typical american would live a weird hodgepodge life. To that person, it'd be consistent, but there would be no ideological consistency, unless you consider pragmatism an ideology.