Pragmatism Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pragmatism Project - Essay Example The problem with this is trying to find the perfect car to restore at a reasonable cost and distance, although the drive to pick up the new car will be exhilarating in and of itself. Simply knowing what I am in store for makes my heart beat faster. Ultimately, the goal here is to find and restore said car to its original factory condition. Given that, I do not want to start with nothing more than an empty frame, I will need to find the car I want intact, but in need of work. This will give me the opportunity to restore a classic to its original beauty and luster, by my own two hands. The car I have chosen is a 1961 Lincoln Continental with suicide doors. As James said, pragmatism has â€Å"†¦only an attitude of orientation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  which is why I chose this car. The act of restoring a vehicle, namely this one, is reminiscent of a time when life moved more slowly, although I was not around, I have always enjoyed the family stories. As a kid growing up, it was always fun and exciting to watch the gangster movies with their long, low cars that gave the appearance of danger. In a way, I will be able to relive moments in time of which I was not a part. Also, something of great importance in American history is that President John F. Kennedy was riding in a 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible limousine when he was shot and killed. Stark history, but it takes me home. The problems that I face in this project are simple, as finding an American car here will likely be more difficult than if I were stateside. Regardless of this, the restoration of a Lincoln is an exciting dream of mine that I will someday be able to fulfill. I have looked into it with vigor and found what I will need to do in order to complete this project with accuracy and pride, which will â€Å"†¦denote the unity of all ideal ends arousing us to desire and actions†, (Dewey, 42) Once the Lincoln I want has been found, I need to be sure that it is worth the asking price, as well as fit with my ideas and budget for the restoration. I must also consider if the condition of the car that I am buying will lend itself to the original restoration I am wanting to do, or if it is so badly beat up, or parts are too sparse, I may want to look elsewhere for another vehicle. This is the best part of the beginning, because the excitement of finding this car is infectious. I can already see myself cruising in it, windows rolled down, arm hanging out the window, very ‘hip’. Once I have the Lincoln at home, the fun would begin. Here I would strongly utilize pragmatism because there are not absolutes in care restoration. There is no state of rest, and practicality is what will allow me to succeed in this quest. I will need to have a space that is at least three times larger than the car itself, as all the parts will easily take up this extra room. The first thing that must be done with a project car is that it must be totally stripped down to the metal, piece by piece; it needs to be raw. This piece-by-piece deconstruction will give me the knowledge of what is still in good working order on the car, what is not, and what I need to find that is not there. It will also tell me a unique story, dreaming that perhaps this car once belonged to a famous gangster, but without the bodies in the trunk. This is important so that reassembly of the car will go easily and smoothly, but also to get to know my car. Each little piece tells a story of its own, its past,

Cultural Identity paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cultural Identity paper - Essay Example However, when you are a part of the majority, there is not a small community of people who share your culture. Rather, the community of people who share your culture is the larger part of the citizenry, and this makes life more isolated than if I was a part of a minority. Moreover, it seems that these individuals in the minority communities have more of a cultural identity, and this cultural identity is kept within the community, learned within the community, and spread through the community due to the tight-knit nature of their community. On the other hand, when you are part of the dominant culture, there is not the same tight knit community, so it seems to be easier to lose one’s ethnic or cultural identity. This is in contrast, to say, the Masai, which is a tribe in Africa that have consciously rejected Western values and beliefs. They are a further example of the tight-knit community in which the individuals within the community share a commonality of beliefs, values, and a history. For instance, the beliefs that are generally passed on from one generation to the next is the value of having large, strong, families; the value of elders, who are believed to be the wisest of all tribe members; and a patriarchal hierarchy that is a source of pride (Samovar & Porter, 2000, p. 92). The world view and perceptions of the world are colored by their membership in the tribe, which means that they value nature to the point where they will not kill wild animals unless they pose a threat or there is a severe drought; they observe a specific religion with a god with two distinct personalities – benevolence and lightning; and how they deal with death – they leave the bodies of the deceased out for the wild animals to eat, because they feel that they are essentially returning the person to nature. Where, in Western cultures, that last belief, especially, would seem abhorrent and disrespectful, because we bury our dead, for the Masai, this is the way tha t it is done and they do not mean disrespect at all (Samovar & Porter, 2000, p. 92). So, the Masai is an excellent example of a close-knit group that transmits culture, and this is the kind of group that I do not feel that I belong. It was therefore difficult for me to apply my situation to the readings that are in this course. This is because the key aspects of my identity are not necessarily derived from my cultural status. The origins of my family are Germanic, but my family has been living in America for a number of generations, therefore the Germanic identity has been replaced by that of being an assimilated American, and this has been the case for many generations. And, since American is such a large country, with many different customs and is essentially a melting pot, it is difficult to describe how being an American affects my perceptions and so forth. As one of the major parts of our reading states that one’s culture affects how one sees the world (Samovar & Porter, 2001, p. 91) – for instance, a Japanese person will see a person being brash and bold, and find that person disrespectful, where a Navajo person will see that same person as being self-centered and mischievous (Samovan & Porter, 2001, p. 54) – it is difficult to discern exactly how my culture relates to the different parts of the reading. So, the easiest way to approach this