AMISH ANGUISH

The simple, innocent lifestyle the Amish prefer apparently has been
infiltrated by drugs. Is nothing sacred?

If this conservative religious sect was to weaken, succumbing to the ways
of the world, we would have preferred they try electricity - not cocaine.
But as content as they appear to be, isolated from the rest of modern
society, it seems they could not keep the drugs out.

Last week's news that two Amish young men had been accused of buying
cocaine from a motorcycle gang surprised the outside world, but perhaps not
their religious community. Apparently there had been trouble with alcohol
and marijuana, but recently the talk was of Amish young people using harder
drugs. The two men accused of buying the cocaine allegedly were
distributing the drugs to Amish youth groups. As unimpressionable as their
society seems, some of their young people must have been easy prey.
Unfortunately, targeting youths is nothing new to the rest of the world.

Not lost among the details of the story was the name of the motorcycle gang
- - the Pagans. How appropriate.

Although none of us is willing to give up the conveniences of society, we
marvel at how the Amish make do with so much less. By no means is theirs an
easy life. And even if some of them have strayed, we cannot help but feel
compassion for a simple group confronting a difficult problem.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)