Amish Teens

The horrific shootings in the Amish school last week once again have brought the pious, deeply private Anabaptist community into the national spotlight. One little known aspect of Amish life is the unusual way they handle the troublesome teenage years. This Morning Edition piece (5/30/2002 - 8:42) discusses Rumspringa, the unusual Amish practice of of encouraging their teenagers to experiences the ways of the world, to sow their wild oats, so to speak. The report coincided with the release of a documentary entitled, The Devil's Playground. This past June, Tom Shachtman published a book on the topic, Rumspringa: To Be or Not To Be Amish (Talk of the Nation).

Musings

• What are you thoughts on rumspringa? How does it compare to your sense of the "normal" way we deal with teens, how you were dealt with when you were sixteen?
  
• There seems to be some parallels between rumspringa and the New Testament Parable of the Prodigal Son.

We will be publishing 3 new topics this week:
on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Gay Republicans

In the midst of the uproar over the scandal surrounding Republican Congressman Mark Foley, here is a report on the small movement of gays within the Republican Party, known as the Log Cabin Republicans (3/17/2004 - 4:16). The name harkens back to Abraham Lincoln and the origins of the Republican Party--learn more at Wikipedia.

Musings

• Why is it surprising to learn that there gay Republicans, or, more to the point, an organized group of gay Republicans? Why is it not surprising that there should be a sizeable number of gay Republicans?
  
  
• There are 535 members of the U.S. Congress, some 85% men, and with very, very few gays living out of the closet, of which Democratic Rep. Barney Frank is by far the best well known. How do you feel about Congressmen and women who are living in the closet? How do you think they will be affected by the current Foley scandal, especially in light of the fact that their sexual orientation is often known by the political leadership?