To Teach a Plain Person Simple Living

[Ernie]

Here is an article we published on Plain News this week.

https://www.plainnews.org/wp-content/up ... ing-4p.pdf

[JohnH]

I would like to take issue with one of the examples given.

A.H. is a Generation Z-er, formerly drawn into anarchist idealism after growing up with a drug-addicted mother. Already at age thirteen, he was drawn to the dark corners of internet life, where he learned to vent his anger at government—any government. Hitting the road in his young years, he wandered across the U.S., living from dumpsters, sleeping wherever he could do so without getting in trouble with authorities, hanging out with the wrong crowds, and finally gaining his senses after about five years of living out his wanderlust. Now in his mid-20s, A.H. has returned to his Catholic background and is a professing Christian. He is married and has one or two children.

This person is a public figure, so I feel it's appropriate to talk about his background, much of which he discusses publicly, as does his wife. He frequently speaks about how his ideal in life is to not have to work, and to live on so little money that he doesn't need to work, but can instead spend his time drinking and pursuing "intellectual" pursuits. Here's an example:



I don't think he really sets an example of what Christian living should be, and I also think he is going to face serious challenges with trying to raise a child, particularly married to someone who came from a very established, multi-generational sort of religious household. (She is not from a plain background but is from another religious group that was multigenerational and quite stable.) The simple fact is that living on $400 a month in America so you can dodge holding down a job and instead spend your time drinking is not what most of us think raising a Christian family is about.

I also don't think he is really an example of family rootedness and simplicity in a Catholic tradition, either. Being a vagabond is not a positive thing, and I can't really think of other Catholic people I know who embrace this "lifestyle". If someone is a vagabond in order to reach people and witness to them, that is one thing, but I do not have much respect for someone who is a vagabond because he doesn't want to work.

I believe that we can learn from people like him. A.H. now lives in upstate New York and writes how he can live on less than $1,000/month. His wife, who was raised among the Amish, evidently shares his simple living values.

I don't think he is being entirely honest to claim you can live in upstate NY for less than $1,000 a month, particularly without relying on government assistance. His wife was not raised amongst the Amish, either, although there was a period of time growing up when she had Amish neighbours. (She has kept a very detailed blog which I read in its entirety a few years ago.) Amongst other unusual things about their lifestyle:

- They claim not to have a marriage certificate or a need to be legally married in the eyes of the state. Despite claiming to be a traditional Catholic, they were not married in a Catholic ceremony, but rather in some kind of outdoor ceremony. Generally speaking, plain people don't think people should be married without a legal marriage certificate, or be married without being married by a minister / pastor etc. of the denomination one belongs to.
- She allegedly comes from "four generations of people who don't have a Social Security number". This makes me immediately wonder how such people do things like "filing taxes", which generally speaking you are obligated to do - at least you are if you work!

A.H. recently wrote about a simple house on several acres that was for sale in his neighborhood for less than $30,000. He figures a young couple could live there on less than $500/month, including the mortgage. That includes, of course, the free fishing on the river just behind the house, and the free venison that wanders into shooting range during hunting season.

A.H. eventually admitted the real reason he had for claiming the cost of living is really cheap in that area of NY:

If I could use my platform here to convince a half-dozen likeminded families to move to my dilapidated, dirt-cheap town, I would've won. But it hasn't quite worked out.

I gave it my all. Spent years hyping this place -- where you can STILL get many move-in-ready homes for under $50k -- on the off-chance there might be at least a handful of footloose, risk-tolerant folks on here who might want to throw their hat in the ring on something new.

In other words, he's been exaggerating the quality of life in upstate NY in the hopes he could other people to join him up there. There is, in fact, very real reasons (most of them having to do with costs) why people are not moving to these towns, including plain people. On the whole, Amish people are generally moving away from upstate NY and that area in particular, for a number of reasons.

So his exhibitions of how "affordable" it is leave out a few key factors - like how high the cost of heat is, the problems those very cheap places often have (like poor insulation or a roof that needs replaced), and the lack of jobs available. His hope was to convince 10 other families to move there, and he expresses disappointment he wasn't able to convince anyone to move there with him. Somebody asked him about this:

Not passing judgment but haven't you been advocating living in small town northern NY for at least the past year? There's a reason people leave, theres not a lot of prospects. And I love backroads America

My ambition was to convince scores of them to all settle in one particular area, but in spite of having tens of thousands of followers online -- I convinced no one.

I guess the magnetism to the cities is too strong, no one wants to try to make something new work.

Going back to the original paper,

“But that house is less than 1,000 square feet of living space!” some would exclaim. “You can’t raise a family in there!” But A.H. makes a valid point: Our great-grandparents raised many a large family in 1,000-square-foot houses! Why can’t we?

I live in an 880 sq ft house with 3 kids, so if you're really serious about "simple" living, come out and see us sometime.

[Ernie]

I think you missed the point of the article and the disclaimers in the article.

[JohnH]

I think you missed the point of the article and the disclaimers in the article.

Well, you cited one of the people as "teachers". I don't really want to be taught by someone who advocates for a lifestyle of chronic unemployment and drinking. I wouldn't want my daughter "married" to such a man, either (particularly not getting married in a church or even having a marriage certificate.) I don't think this is proper, and don't feel I have much to learn from such a person.

I also live on less than $1,000 a month, so perhaps you should be listing me as one of the "teachers" in your article too - except I don't really have a gigantic Twitter following, or a book deal in the works, where I market my "frugal" lifestyle.

[JohnL]

Here is an article we published on Plain News this week.

https://www.plainnews.org/wp-content/up ... ing-4p.pdf

This is a really great article! Do you reckon it’s free to print out or do I need to get copyright permission? I want to share it with my SS class.

[Ernie]

Here is an article we published on Plain News this week.

https://www.plainnews.org/wp-content/up ... ing-4p.pdf

This is a really great article! Do you reckon it’s free to print out or do I need to get copyright permission? I want to share it with my SS class.

You are welcome to pass it along.

[barnhart]

Here is an article we published on Plain News this week.

https://www.plainnews.org/wp-content/up ... ing-4p.pdf

This is a really great article! Do you reckon it’s free to print out or do I need to get copyright permission? I want to share it with my SS class.

You are welcome to pass it along.

Is this the case for all downloaded articles from plain news?

[Ernie]

This is a really great article! Do you reckon it’s free to print out or do I need to get copyright permission? I want to share it with my SS class.

You are welcome to pass it along.

Is this the case for all downloaded articles from plain news?

Yes, unless it says "copyrighted" at the end or "used by permission".

[Praxis+Theodicy]

I have enjoyed Atnip's articles in the past, and this thesis piques my interest. I look forward to reading this on my lunch break.

[barnhart]

I think it is healthy to raise voices that strike the root of the tree of materialism and ease in the church. The Anabaptist Church is certainly no exception, we need it desperately. What I am curious about is why the examples and ideas that seem to come out of this critique are funnelled down a narrow scope of social retreat, rural independence and self reliance. If the vision can easily be embraced by preppers, Christian Nationalists, and the leftover '60's hippies, is it really the non- materialism of Jesus or has it been channeled and watered down to fit other movements of social discontent.

Where are the voices of non-materialistic kingdom focus that don't rely on a culture of rural seclusion and independence. What about an updated version of the urban monk, serving where people live in a lifestyle of vulnerability and interdependence. Why would this path be considered less godly or more compromised. How do the examples of Jesus and the early church speak into this.