In less than two years, Wisconsin has seen three Circuit Court cases of seemingly local import: one involved sexual assault of a minor, another parental custody rights, the third accusations of child abuse. But theses cases attracted more than usual attention because those who stood accused were wearing clothing of a cut not seen in American life since the turn of the century.

Wisconsin is now home to the fourth largest population of Plain Peoples in the country — Amish and Mennonites of many different kinds live among their Old Order German Baptist Brethren, River Brethen and Wilburite Quaker neighbors. These descendants of Christian Pietist sects embraced Anabaptist (adult baptism) and pacifist tenets in 17th-century Europe and escaped torture and civic persecution by accepting William Penn’s invitation to colonize his new commonwealth where freedom of worship was guaranteed.
Neither Catholic nor Protestant, they were and remain a people apart from mainstream Christianity, seeking to live a “plain” life in the way of Jesus’ teachings, and embracing 2 Corinthians 6:17 “... and be ye separate.” They are perhaps our greatest success in the American experiment in religious freedom.

But here, also, are the greatest conflicts between freedom of faith and a nation of laws. State, regional and county agencies and district courts hire me to explain the nature of the Plain peoples. I advise medical, social service, safety, emergency responder and legal professionals on the culture and beliefs of the people they are charged to respond to. A hallmark of every conference, in-service workshop, program lecture and training session has been the hunger for information and an understandig of these unique peoples.

I am considered a “modernist” among national scholars of the Plain Peoples in that I feel strongly that the same laws that provide freedom to worship without interference also mandate that those — Plain or not Plain — who do great harm to the community must face the penalties our law require. The Amish truly believe that sincere repentance is punishment enough in the Church; I believe that repeat offenders from any faith endanger the vulnerable within their community and must be answerable to our laws.

I believe firmly that human hard-wiring gone wrong, or chemical brain imbalances, will outweigh penitence of the heart every time. Here I part ways with a people I love deeply, and have had many long talks among Amish friends without either side persuading.

Every week, busloads of prospective Amish land owners from the Eastern states arrive in various parts of Wisconsin hoping to find an affordable 1,000-acre farm. Within six months, in place of one retired couple on 1,000 acres, seven to 10 farmhouses may rise on 100-acre parcels carved out of the original farm. The impact on the towns around which they settle is immense, for the purchasing power of the Amish (strictly cash) is no joke in a time of depressed commodity prices, and the Amish almost automatically draw tourism dollars.

At the recent Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputies Association annual conference in Stevens Point, a participant knew for a fact that there were no Amish in his county, to which I gently replied “No ... not yet.”

Wisconsin must establish an Office for Plain Affairs, and convene the first all-state Wisconsin Conference on the Plain Peoples. If the harsh and bitter statements made to me by unhappy Wisconsin citizens concerning their Plain neighbors is any indication, a major education effort must be implemented, and very soon, because we teach our children how to hate and pass on our bigotries to the next generation.

I call on Gov. Jim Doyle to open a dialogue on his unique citizens and to call together those of us who have worked many years among the Plain Peoples and are asking to be of service to him and his staff to hammer out state protocols, policies and plans that will help all levels of government respond thoughtfully to the needs of the Plain Peoples, and to also help the larger state community better understand their new neighbors.

The population will continue to grow rapidly; the conflicts are already escalating. The time is now.

Deborah Morse-Kahn is director of Regional Research Associates, Minneapolis, and author of “Born Amish” (2003). She can be contacted at dmk@regionalresearch.net.

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