Exempt the Amish

Lawmakers should repay the Amish for serving our country by exempting them from selective service.

It was a humbling experience getting to know some of the Amish voters who helped propel President-elect Donald Trump’s historic comeback victory. In a way, it was like feeling my mind and my heart grow larger inside me through no virtue of my own. I’ll never forget the gratitude I feel toward them; and I believe the Republican Party—and the whole nation—should never forget either.

On the surface, we have nothing in common. I come from a long line of soldiers. My grandfather was an infantryman in World War II. My father, my brother, and I also served in the infantry. My son fought in Syria and Iraq against ISIS. My youngest boys, still in school, are preparing to serve our country too. I put a high premium on military service; and, frankly, I consider it the duty of every Jones boy to enlist.

So that’s this Trump supporter’s background. What strange events could place me in the same room as Amish farmers and tradesmen in the lead-up to the 2024 election?

Orthodox. Faithful. Free.

Trump’s reelection was historic in a million ways, but one of the most historic aspects of the story was how the Amish were drawn into the action. Many of them voted for Trump overwhelmingly, after centuries of their community abstaining from the electoral process.

The absolutely unprecedented Amish vote, particularly in the decisive battleground state of Pennsylvania, would never have been possible if it weren’t for Trump’s own brave decision to stand against the military-industrial complex as it brought us to the precipice of worldwide conflict.

So, what drew the Amish out? Well, the heroic work of pro-Trump activist Scott Presler in Pennsylvania in alerting the Amish to the importance of this election can’t be overstated. But even more fundamental was the persuasive argument—the truth—that Presler was able to tell them.

Trump promised solidarity with the people of Gaza. He promised a preference for peace in Ukraine if reelected. The Amish’s decision to cast their votes ultimately came down to their own aversion to the prospect of the global war that the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket showed every sign of bringing about.

The countless deaths of men, women, and children already happening in the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine and the likelihood of escalations on all sides was enough to move even the contemplative, quietistic, nose-to-the-plow Amish to intervene.

But their conundrum, of course, was that by voting they would open themselves all up to selective service. They would be entering their names into the System.

The idea of going to war for the U.S. government is unthinkable in their faith tradition, and—despite the obvious and drastic difference between their culture and mine—I truly respect that.

The idea of going to war for the U.S. government is unthinkable in their faith tradition, and—despite the obvious and drastic difference between their culture and mine—I truly respect that.

I respect it all the more for the fact that the Amish, bravely and in some cases I’m sure agonizingly, had the nobility of mind to delineate between their principles and take prudent and decisive action for their fellow man in the Middle East and throughout the whole world. And they did so exactly when it counted the most.

But now, after the Amish chose to risk sacrificing their own interests for the sake of the Trump campaign’s assurances against war, I believe their country owes them something in return: As soon as the next legislative session begins under the new Trump administration, lawmakers should make it a high priority to exempt the Amish from selective service.

It would be a simple piece of legislation that would no doubt receive near-unanimous approval. Even the staunchest and most embittered Democrats should have no desire to be vengeful (or, more to the point, to appear vengeful in the eyes of their constituents) toward the peace-loving and well-liked Amish.

But on that point, Republicans should take all the more urgent action to exempt the Amish in light of just how cynical and cruel some within the federal bureaucracy can be. Are they really above weaponizing the draft against the Amish the way they have the highest law enforcement agencies against disfavored groups like Catholics and pro-lifers? There is no guarantee against it. Republicans can create one with this legislation.

As a Christian, I believe taking this action is a just return for what the Amish have given us.

To put the historic significance of their decision into sharp relief, you could say that in 2024 the Amish gave themselves up for peace.

As a soldier, I also think of these words of Our Lord: “Greater love hath no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

The Amish decision to throw in their lot with the rest of us in 2024 was an act of selfless love that was, in its own way, as emblematic of soldierly courage as any.