Is There A Virtuous Man in Babylon?

One of the goals the Amish community strives for is to keep as many people working in farming as possible. Working the land keeps people connected to the natural order in a way that completely surpasses dogma or discussion. This year, for example, when I harvested the first ripe strawberries from our garden, I felt that order, and felt my place in that order in a way that transcends words.

I didn't grow the strawberry, the plant and the soil fungi, bacteria, the endless cycle of years that produced the topsoil did. Adopting an egotistical or narcissistic demeanor is much less likely with regular exposure to those lessons. Those lessons really don't gain by being transformed into words or intellectualized talk.

If the United States were organized for families to be virtuous, that is, to instill virtue in their children, it would look a lot more like an Amish community than it does today. The 'burbs are really interesting from that perspective. The people in the suburbs are stuck with city office jobs, but don't want to live in cities. However, the 'burbs have the problem of being neither urban, nor rural.