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CRJ419 Midterm Exam
CRJ419 Midterm Exam
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Question 1
1a
Although physical or bodily autonomy is by no means a fundamental right, there are specific decisions in which the Supreme Court recognized this autonomy. For example, in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the Supreme Court highlighted the effect that specifically Roe v. Wade (1973) placed on the significance of personal autonomy, specifically concerning reproductive rights. The Casey Court had argued that Roe was viewed to state a personal autonomy rule. The Supreme Court also accorded with Roe’s view with the argument that the interest of the state in life protection is inadequate in justifying all individual liberty claims’ plenary override. In addition, in Rochin v. California (1952), the Supreme Court recognized an individual’s right to disagree with unwanted bodily intrusions; this is in line with bodily autonomy right. Therefore, in the above decisions, the Supreme Court recognized physical or bodily autonomy right.
1c
The ruling, in this case, fits perfectly with the statute’s language. The Court may have argued that ensuring that health providers take necessary steps to keep away from transmitting a menacing virus to their various patients is in line with the medical profession’s fundamental principle; this highlight that; first, one should not harm. Healthcare workers should be vaccinated regularly against other different diseases. Health organizations have also supported this mandate. Also, the Court may have followed the CMS rule that requires that different healthcare facilities, nursing homes, ambulatory surgery centers, and hospitals must ensure that their staff is entirely vaccinated; otherwise, they can risk losing Medicaid and Medicare funding (Mensik, 2022). In addition, it would be contradictory to effective and efficient administration for a certain healthcare facility meant to ensure people are healthy to make them affected by COVID-19. Thus, although the case cites bodily autonomy rights, the ruling does not alter the Constitution’s application (Chambers, 2019). As technology advances, it may eliminate the requirement for some particular laws. Therefore, the Court justifiably rejected the lawsuit.
QUESTION 2
Q2a.
According to criminal law, an individual’s plea is the answer they give after the court of law has charged them with a crime. The class reading indicates that two types of the plea are made in the court of law. And plea being the formal answer, a defendant can either plead guilty by admitting charges after trial before a jury or pleading not guilty to deny the charges. Hessick & Saujani (2002) discusses the standards for plea through plea bargaining, although to some extent, post-trial reviews of guilty pleas are stricter compared to trial convictions and may take time. One of the standards for the plea is voluntary, whereby a prosecutor in Supreme Court may choose to close a case in a criminal justice court by offering the defendant incentives. This means that the prosecutor provides a bargain that constitutes the incentive. Intelligently is another standard for plea discussed in the readings. This means that innocent defendants have the truth regarding a particular crime they never committed, but when they enter a guilty plea, they do so forcefully. However, the defendant’s plea may be entered intelligently because the judicial officer has convinced the individual that has committed the crime (Hessick & Saujani, 2002).
Q2b.
In the criminal justice system, there are various forms of plea bargains that defendants may rise in a Supreme Court, which include charge bargaining, fact and sentence bargaining concerning innocent defendant convictions. Safeguards concerning the prevention of innocent conviction through plea bargaining indicate that when an innocent defendant pleads guilty in Supreme Court, it raises troubling questions of integrity to the entire criminal justice system (Hessick & Saujani, 2002). Even though convictions are assured by plea bargain. Prevention of innocent convictions through plea bargaining has to factor in significant safeguards, such as considering the gravity of the crime the defendant is alleged to have committed (Hessick & Saujani, 2002). This is because the severity of the crime to have been committed provides a starting point for prosecutors to impose or give out their ruling. Defendant’s criminal record and characteristics are another safeguard and consideration that help prevent innocent plea bargaining convictions. Additionally, finding evidence that the defendant has committed a crime is a way of safeguarding and preventing an innocent conviction.
Q2c.
The criminal justice system offers a legal plea bargaining framework that enables accused persons to exercise their constitutional right to trial. Through this framework, the prosecutor can drop a criminal case charge over a defendant if the evidence against the defendant is not strong or its bases are not ethical. In this framework, lawyers are involved as gladiators and problem solvers. Gladiator lawyer is a lawyering model whereby lawyers reason back from the ultimate fight while in the courtroom during the bargaining process. This dominant model and practice type of lawyering is based on legal education and practice, as indicated in reading six. However, problem-solving lawyer utilizes their community connections to determine the right individuals to use based on various logical, socially sensitive, intuitive, and practical thinking styles (Sturm, 1997). Based on their definition, gladiator types of lawyers are effective since they utilize their legal bargaining power to defend their defendants in court without considering their originality.
Question 3
Q3a.
Shoben (2006) defines tort reform as an initiative with the effort to minimize the number of tort lawsuits. And its related expenses in the legal system, frequently by legislation that, among other things, may limit the legal theories used to support plaintiff complaints or set a limit on damage awards. In simple terms, tort reforms limit peoples’ constitutional right to file a lawsuit, complicate the process of obtaining a trial by jury, and minimize the cost of damage awarded to the affected party. Generally, tort reform is the immodest proposal aimed at reforming personal injury damages to let indemnities fit the erroneous. According to the tort reform proposal, there are three proposed changes by this proposal to reform emotional injury damages as indicated by the Shoben. The proposed tort reform certificates compensatory damages based on the following factors: the severity of the tort offense, the seriousness of the harm, and the close relation between the offense/crime and harm caused/plaintiff injury. Additionally, the proposed changes provide a more dependable and predictable framework for damage assessment. Moreover, the proposed changes and reforms include compensation or award of attorney’s fees.
Q3b.
The McDonald’s coffee spill case discussed by Cain (2007) is a frivolous lawsuit. Frivolous lawsuit/litigation is a legal action within the criminal justice system in Texas that is presented without sufficient legal, factual or realistic grounds, basically aimed at annoying the other party. McDonald’s coffee spill case is considered frivolous because the patient had adequate evidence that Stella Liebeck spelled coffee to any restaurant workers. This is because she had bought a cup of takeout coffee at McDonald’s drive, spilled it on her lap, and ended up on the court against McDonald’s. And as a result of the case, it was ruled in favor, and a jury awarded her, which cost around $3M.
Q3c.
Following the McDonald’s coffee spill case, it is based on the comparative negligence doctrine. This is because, as discussed in the reading, comparative negligence is a principle of tort law in module 12 by Shoben (2006) that applies to casualty insurance in some regions/states. It is based on the doctrine that when an accident happens, both parties fault and/or negligence is included based on their respective possible contribution to the occurrence of the accident. In this case, if it were not for McDonald to make the coffee, then Liebeck could not have spilled it on her lap.
References
Cain, K. G. (2007). The McDonald’s Coffee Lawsuit. Journal of Consumer & Commercial Law, 11(1).
Chambers, H. (2019). Technological Change, Voting Rights, and Strict Scrutiny. Maryland Law Review, 79(1), 191-215.
Hessick III, F. A., & Saujani, R. M. (2002). Plea bargaining and convicting the innocent: The role of the prosecutor, the defense counsel, and the judge. Byu j. puB. L., 16, 189.
Mensik, H. (2022). SCOTUS narrowly upholds health worker vaccine mandate. Healthcare Dive. https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/scotus-narrowly-upholds-health-worker-vaccine-mandate/617000/
Shoben, E. W. (2006). Let the Damages Fit the Wrong: An Immodest Proposal for Reforming Personal Injury Damages. Akron L. Rev., 39, 1069.
Sturm, S. P. (1997). From gladiators to problem-solvers: connective conversations about women, the academy, and the legal profession. Duke J. Gender L. & Pol’y, 4, 119.
A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Role of Symbols on Human Behavior
A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Role of Symbols on Human Behavior
Name
Institution
Abstract
Culture is a significant part of human existence because it guides the way people interact with others from their culture and those from other cultures. The symbols that exist in the world have different meanings depending on the cultural background that one is from. These differences become obvious when people from various cultures interact. In order to foster a greater understanding and cohesion during such interactions, it is important that people have knowledge of their cultural symbols and those of others. The purpose of this paper was to investigate on the different meanings of cultural symbols among several cultures in the world and how they influence people’s behaviors. It reviewed the results of research studies carried out to establish cross-cultural perceptions of various symbols and how those perceptions influenced their behavior. All the results indicated that there is a distinct difference in the meaning of symbols across cultures in the world. In spite of the differences, it is important that individuals take it upon themselves to learn about other people’s culture symbols.
Keywords: Cultural symbols
A cross-cultural comparison of the role of symbols on human behavior
Man is named as the only being that broadly utilizes symbols as a means of communication (Morrison, 2011). In fact, White (n.d.) states that, “…All human behavior originates in the use of symbols.” According to her, the symbol played an immense role in the transformation of our ape-like ancestors into the current human form. She further asserts that all forms of civilization can be credited to the use of symbols. The existence of symbols did not only lead to the rise of culture, but has continually enabled its perpetuation. Speech has been named to be the most crucial component of symbolic expression without which there would be no forms of social organization. Human behavior is not only dependent upon symbols, but is equated to symbolic behavior as well (White, n.d.).
As a result of the key role played by symbols to humanity, it has become a popular area of research in various disciples such as Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology and Communication among others. In particular, anthropology focuses on what certain symbols mean to people from various cultural backgrounds. Other culture-symbol related studies always attempt to uncover the impacts culturally held beliefs have on various symbols. Morrison (2011) notes that a more recent wave of research work is placing emphasis on what impacts symbols have on cognitive processes of different people. Findings of several studies indicate that the use of symbols is deeply rooted in man’s sub-conscious that they can’t tell that they are using them. In light of the above, this paper seeks to compare how symbols are used among different cultures.
There is a variety of contentious definitions that have been given by various people in their bid to explain what symbols are. The word has its origin from a Greek verb and nou which mean “to throw together” and to “tally” respectively (Morrison, 2011). White (2011) is of the opinion that the meaning of a symbol can neither be obtained nor determined from its physical characteristics. Instead, she declares that such meanings and determinations come from the people through physical encounter with them. For this reason, she says that a symbol must exist in a physical form or else people would not experience them. However, she is keen to note that the meaning of symbols do not emanate from mere physical encounters of people but most importantly by a “… non-sensory, symbolic means…” Bertalanffy (as cited in Morrison 2011) attributes three characteristics to symbols. He defines symbols as signs which are both freely formed and representative. In this case, the term free has been used to mean that the symbols are not as a result of reflexes or any conditioned behavior. Cassier defines a symbol as an outcome of both language and the cultural classification of concepts (Morrison, 2008). Luna and Gupta have also attempted to describe what a symbol is and have stated that, “symbols are a broad category of processes and objects that carry a meaning that is unique to a particular group.”
Chu (n.d.) conducted a study among graphic design students to determine their visual comprehension of symbols. The study’s objectives included an investigation as to whether there existed any difference in how these students perceived and interpreted the meaning of symbols. In addition to that, the study intended to find out how much the participants knew not only about their cultural images, but that of other cultures as well. In order to effectively create, design and deliver intended graphic messages, it is crucial that the cultural differences are taken into consideration. Chu (n.d.) points out that it is for reason that studies to find out how much people from different cultures know about other cultures other than their own so that the education system can be tailored to fill any gaps.
A one hundred and twenty population sample consisted of students from United States and Hong Kong took part in Chu’s research. These students attended the University of Minnesota and Hong Kong Polytechnic respectively. In the study, Chu made use of twenty visual symbols from both the countries in equal proportions. Each 10 set country category consisted of 5 business logos and another 5 national symbols. In addition to the above, a survey was carried out among a 90 undergraduate student sample (Chu, n.d.). The American culture symbols were arrived at as a result of a consultation process with the advisory committee and they were aimed at identifying the top most symbols that people believe are representative of the American culture. The national images for Hong Kong on the other hand were advised by a committee well versed with the culture of Hong Kong (Chu, n.d.). Through content analysis of the highest circulating magazines, the business visual images were arrived at. The magazines were classified as hobbies and entertainment, business, science and technology, general editorial and news. A booklet and survey questions were then formulated and administered to the participants (Chu, n.d.).
Repeated-measure design analysis was employed to analyze the responses. The results indicated that there is a distinct difference in how symbols are perceived by people from different cultures (Chu, n.d.). They also indicated that there is a difference between how respondents responded to their cultural symbols and how they reacted towards the cultural symbols of others. This goes to show that American and Hong Kong graphic design students are different in terms of how they perceive symbols that represent their culture and those that are from another culture (Chu, n.d.). The results of this study affirmed the hypothesis of the study which was that there exist perceptual differences between the two cultures of visual images.
In their framework, Gupta and Luna (n.d.) give a critical analysis of consumer behavior from a cross-cultural perspective. Peoples’ value systems are influenced by the cultures to which they belong and in this same fashion, the behavior of consumers is influenced. A person’s consumption conduct may be observed by other members of a group and either get imitated or declined (Luna, & Gupta, n.d.). This can then be adopted as the group’s norm and further identified as its culture. Marketers therefore, are faced with a crucial task to translate the symbolic meanings attached certain cultures into the goods and services they are offering. Consumer researchers have primarily focused on language as the prime symbol to be understood so as to meet their targets (Luna, & Gupta, n.d.). Studies have shown that in order to hit the market, advertisements that incorporate the values and beliefs of a particular culture are the key ingredient.
Hence, studies of the language used in advertising, have become increasingly important. According to Dolinsky and Feinberg (as cited in Gupta, & Luna, n.d.), the processing of a second language results in overload of information and suboptimal choices as compared to the processing of first language. As stated by Scmitt and Zhang (as cited in Gupta, & Luna, n.d.), language forms mental representations that cause lead to different decisions in different cultures. Other investigations have made use of the interpretative research method in their culture-consumer behavior studies. An analysis of the symbolic consumption of clothes between the Turkish and Danish people brings out a clear difference of what they value.
In every sphere of human interaction that involves the making of decisions, trust is a very important component for success to be achieved. The creators of avatars continually struggle to create avatars that foster relationships based on trust (Morrison, 2008). Human interactions on the internet call for trust no matter how parties are digitally represented. Just as cultural symbols may influence the creation of avatars, so can it influence which avatars one feels comfortable using. In other words, the cultural symbols of various people will influence their levels of trust and determine which avatars they would choose to use (Morrison, 2008). Research findings generally indicate that people from the similar backgrounds tend to be more trusting and accepting each other making them more dependable as opposed to those from different backgrounds. This experience in real life translates to the virtual world and influences people’s choices of avatars. It is said that the human-to-human interaction together with all its dynamics are translated into the human-avatar relationship (Morrison, 2008). This translation includes the impacts of prejudices and the visual manifestation which can go a long way in determining whether an individual will find a certain avatar trustworthy or not (Morrison, 2008).
Business students at a state university took part in a study that set out to determine whether the use of archetypal avatars which are generally associated with trustworthiness will develop trust and be related to trusting behavior when used for communication by people via computers (Morrison, 2008). The results of the study showed that indeed, when archetypal avatars which are related to trustworthiness are used lead to the development of trust. Results also showed that the use of archetypal symbols which were related to trustworthiness were associated to trusting behavior (Morrison, 2008).
Allen, Gupta and Monnier conducted a study to investigate whether taste evaluation among people from different cultures is as a resultant combination of cultural symbols and personal values on taste. They state that the cultural activities that people undertake play a big role in transferring meaning to both foods and beverages. Individuals there after evaluate this information based on their own personal values and if what society prescribes and their values have no conflict, they experience a pleasant taste (Allen et.al., n.d.). On the contrary, if the two are not in sync, they will experience bad taste. The results of their study showed that among different cultures, that red meat signified social power. On the other hand, there was a cross-cultural acceptance that vegetables, fruits and grains symbolized power rejection (Allen et.al., n.d.).
In their experiment, they used sausage beef rolls and a vegetarian alternative. The people who rejected power tended to have a more favorable evaluation of the taste, better attitude and even the intention to purchase upon belief that they had consumed a vegetarian roll whether or not what they ate was a sausage or a vegetarian roll (Allen et.al., n.d.). This was a complete opposite of what those who supported social power went through. On the part of beverages, those participants who supported the values that Pepsi incorporated such as life enjoyment, social power and recognition as well as exciting life, had a more favorable evaluation of taste, better attitude and the intention to buy after tasting Pepsi as compared to when they tasted another beverage (Allen et.al., n.d.).
In conclusion, culture plays an important role in formulating the values and belief systems that people become accustomed to throughout the course of their lives. The experiences that people go through play another key role in determining which meanings will be assigned to various concepts depending on their cultural backgrounds. As a result, different cultures have different understandings of what different symbols mean. Even though there are distinct differences in the ways different cultures assign meaning to various symbols, there lie some similarities as well. This has been exemplified soundly in the case of avatar usage in computer enhanced communications in the present day world. There are certain archetypal symbols which have similar meanings across cultures. In spite of the existent differences, it is important that people take their time to learn about others’ cultures and the meanings they have assigned to various symbols so as to foster greater social cohesion.
References
Allen, W. M., Gupta, R., & Monnier, A. (2008). The interactive effect of cultural symbols andhiman values on taste evaluation. Journal of Consumer Research, 35, 1-15. Retrievedfrom http://www.scribd.com/doc/4015305/The-Interactive-Effect-of-Cultural-Symbolsand-Human-Values-on-Taste-Evaluation
Chu, S. (n.d.). Cross-cultural comparison of the perception of symbols. Journal of VisualLiteracy, 55(1), 69-80. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ohio.edu/visualliteracy/JVL_ISSUE_ARCHIVES/JVL23%281%29/JVL23281%29_pp.69-80.pdf
Luna, D. & Gupta, F. S. (n.d.). An integrative framework for cross-cultural consumer behavior.International Market Review, 18(1), 45-69. Retrieved fromhttp://iba8010kelly.alliant.wikispaces.net/file/view/Culture+and+Innovation++An+integrative+framework+for+cross-cultural+consumer+behavior.pdf
Morrison, G. R. (2008). An examination of the relationship between culturally recognizedsymbols as avatars and trust in computer mediated communication environments.Retrieved fromhttp://etd.auburn.edu/etd/bitstream/handle/10415/1482/Morrison_Rodger_17.pdf?sequece=1
Morrison, R. (2011). A new method of identifying archetypal symbols and their associatedmeanings. European Journal of Social Sciences, 27(1), 57-70. Retrieved fromhttp://www.europeanjournalofsocialsciences.com/ISSUES/EJSS_27_1_08.pdf
White, A. L. (n.d.). Symbol: The basic element of culture. Retrieved fromhttp://dpferry.com/pdf/White___Symbol_the_basic_element_of_culture.pdf
Different Cultures That Exist Around The World Today
Different Cultures That Exist Around The World Today
The past five weeks in my life have really had an impact on me. In such a short period of time, I have become more aware of the different cultures that exist around the world today. We tend to think that our way of life is the only way there is, or at least the only right way. It is really very ignorant to think that everyone believes and behaves the same way. People should stop being so self-centred and take notice and interest in cultural diversity. There are numerous different cultures in our country alone. One in particular is the Amish culture, which I would like to familiarize you with. The Amish culture consists of many unique beliefs that makes their ways unlike that of any other culture. They lead a life of simplicity and yet have very harsh ways of doing things. The Amish is perhaps the most diverse culture in the entire United States. The Amish of Pennsylvania and Ohio greatly differ with the rest of American society. “Although the Amish look like they stepped out of the rural nineteenth century, in fact they do change,” (Amish Cultures). Their lives move more slowly than ours, but they definitely are not stuck anywhere. They move on slowly but surely. Instead of accepting new technology like the rest of American society, they choose to examine change carefully before they approve of it. If the new idea or gadget does not succeed in keeping their lives simple and their families together, they will most likely reject it. Family is among the most important values the Amish stress. They don’t like to let anything break their family ties. The fact that they have lived this way for hundreds of years and not allowed the “modern” world to deter them from their pursuit of their service to God, is truly unbelievable. As mentioned earlier, the Amish do not like anything technologized in fear that it will break the family up. In actuality, they are completely right. If you take a look at an Amish family and compare it to an average American family, you would see major differences. The average American family would be very divided. You’d find the children and parents watching T.V., accessing computers, surfing the internet, playing video games, etc. In the Amish family, everyone would gather together to eat, work, and play. The Amish keep their materials basic. This way they are certain no technological advance can pull them apart. “Old order groups all drive horses and buggies rather than cars, do not have electricity in their homes. Bottled gas is used to operate water heaters, modern stoves and refrigerators. Gas-pressured lanterns and lamps are used to light homes, barns, and shops,” (The Amish People 14). The Amish place very large emphasis on humanity, family, community, and separation with the rest of the world. They place value on simplicity and self-denial, whereas, typical Americans cherish comfort, convenience and leisure. Most Americans speak one to two languages fluently. Among the most popular are English and Spanish. On the other hand, “most Amish are trilingual. They speak a dialect of German called Pennsylvania Dutch at home; they use High German at their worship services; and they learn English at school,” (Amish Culture). On average, an Amish family numbers 8 as opposed to the rest of American cultures which numbers 3. Their homes are large with several rooms opening into one large room where they hold church. The houses are furnished very simply with benches on which the families sit to eat their meals. The floors are bare and the windows are covered with plain colored cloth. Amish children attend private, one-room schoolhouses which are either taught by the parents or a young, unmarried Christian woman. However, in most American cultures, teachers of any sex and marital status are hired for the job. Amish children usually attend school until eighth grade, whereas, most other cultures continue on through high school and sometimes even college. Also, Amish school systems are operated solely by the parents. Every family pitches in and helps paint, repair and maintain their local school. Though Amish communities hold very close ties with their schools, much emphasis isn’t really placed on scholastic education because it is thought that what children really need to know is taught at home: domestic skills, farming responsibilities, and certainly the religious teachings. Although school isn’t a major part of Amish life, they still are more dedicated to it than average Americans. After a snowstorm, when most private and public schools are closed down, the Amish schoolhouses remain open. “They just adapt to the weather by using sleighs for transportation,” (Amish Life). The Amish people are extremely hard workers. They wake up at the crack of dawn and work through the entire day. Their labor is hard and tedious, but yet, the work gets done. “Children usually work on their parent’s farm until they marry and go off to create a farm of their own” (Amish). Even the youngest of their children are assigned chores to do around the farm. They work long and hard and complain little. In most other cultures, children complain over the littlest tasks. In a society such as ours where whining has become an art form, the Amish just keep on going. It is truly ironic that Amish children do much more work then any others and yet, they don’t voice a single complaint. Amish clothing styles may be the most distinct feature about their culture. While most cultures sport trendy, modern fashions, the Amish hide their body in simple, drab clothing. “The Amish feel these unique clothes encourage humility and separation from the world,” (Living in Pennsylvania). Their clothing is not a costume, but instead, an expression of faith. Amish men wear dark colored high vests over homemade shirts. Then, collarless coats with hook and eye fasteners drape over them. Their hair is cut in what is known as a “Dutch Bob.” Young men shave their beards until marriage. A nice full beard symbolizes manhood and maturity. For formal events, men and boys wear dark-colored suits, straight-cut coats without lapels, broad fall trousers, suspenders, solid-colored shirts, black socks and shoes, and black or straw broad-brimmed hats. Their shirts fasten with conventional buttons, but their suit coats and vests fasten with hooks and eyes. The Amish women dress simply with plain ankle length dresses, black stockings and flat shoes. In the cold months, they wear black wool shawls. Their heads are usually concealed by a covering or white prayer cap which is worn inside the home or during church sermons, and a black bonnet when outside. The girls dress like their mothers except they do not wear prayer caps until they have joined church. Old order Amish women and girls wear modest dresses made from solid-colored fabric with long sleeves and a full skirt. These skirts are restricted to be no shorter than halfway between the knee and floor. These dresses are covered with a cape and apron and fastened with straight pins or snaps. They never cut their hair, but instead wear it in a bun on the back of the head. Amish women do not wear jewelry either. Amish boys and girls begin their search for a spouse when they turn sixteen. It is considered quite rare that people reach the age of twenty unmarried. Unlike American’s traditional white, blue is a typical color chosen for wedding gowns by young Amish women. “An Amish bride’s wedding attire is always new. She usually makes her own dress and also those of her bridesmaids, known to the Amish as newehockers,” (Amish Cultures). The style of the dresses are very plain and are mid-calf length. They display no fancy trim or lace and never have a train. When young members are married, they are often given a parcel of land by one father. This land is given so the couple can get a head start and make a living. An average Amish farm consists of approximately 80 acres. Ohio’s most popular crops grown are wheat, oats, clover, and corn. In Pennsylvania, a wider selection is raised including: corn, hay, wheat, tobacco, soybeans, barley, potatoes, and other vegetables. The corn, grain, and hay crops are usually used to feed the farm’s livestock. Tobacco, potatoes, grain, hay, and the remainder of vegetables are raised for marketing purposes. Farmers also grow various grasses for grazing. Most Amish farming is done with horse drawn equipment with metal wheels. Until a few years ago, farming was the only way the Amish folk were able to make a living. This all changed simply because of the fact that soil was no longer plentiful. As a result, former farmers went off to enjoy woodworking, canning, watch repair, and getting employed at various manufacturing jobs. The Amish women are good cooks, but only cook plain foods raised on their farms. They usually serve pork, beef, chicken, turkey, and garden vegetables as main meals. Among Amish favorites are “roast, (roast chicken with bread stuffing), mashed potatoes, gravy, creamed celery, coleslaw, applesauce, cherry pie, donuts, fruit salad, tapioca pudding and bread, butter and jelly…” (Amish Life). Holidays observed by the Amish are very religious. During these holidays, the Amish practice family and religious values more than that of any other culture. The most stress is placed upon Thanksgiving, Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and Whit Monday (the day after Pentecost). “December 25 is a solemn celebration of Christ’s birth and “second Christmas” on December 26 is a time for visiting and family dinners,” (A Day Through Amish Eyes). On the other hand, the majority of American society lose sight of the religious meaning of holidays and instead, are hypnotized by the gifts they receive. Another characteristic of the Amish culture is that they have a lot of predictable names. There are few names that are occupied by many. “The most common last names are Stoltzfus, King, Fisher, Beiler, and Lapp. The most common first names for males are: John, Amos, Samuel, Daniel, and David. The most common first names for females are: Mary, Rebecca, Sarah, Katie, and Annie,” (The Amish People). Both Amish men and women wear white for burial. It is very ironic that the traditional wedding color in American society is white, but the Amish use white to symbolize death, and marriage blue. Black and white are complete opposites, and yet, the Amish wear white at funerals and the rest of American culture wears black. “In death, as in life, the simplicity is evident. A plain wooden coffin is built. Often it is six-sided with a split lie – the upper part is hinged so it can be opened for viewing the body. It is very simple – no ornate carvings or fine fabrics. There are no eulogies. Respect for the deceased is expressed, but not praised. A hymn is spoken but not sung. There are no flowers.” (Amish Life). As one can clearly see, the Amish have a way of life unlike any other culture in this area. It is a life that consists of simpler ways, with the technological exclusions; yet it is much more difficult than the average American lifestyle considering all of the hard work performed. The rest of America should possibly consider some of the Amish practices in order to bring family life back together as it once was.
Bibliography:
“A Day through Amish Eyes.” Ask Jeeves. Online. America Online. 12 June 1999. “Amish.” World Book Encyclopedia. 1988 ed. “Amish Cultures.” Ask Jeeves. Online. America Online. 15 June 1999. “Amish Life.” Yahoo. Online. America Online. 11 June 1999. Harris, Joseph. The Amish People. New York: New York, 1992. “Living in Pennsylvania.” Yahoo. Online. America Online. 12 June 1999.