Postmodernism and the Fundamentalist Revival
For contemporary Western—particularly American—thought, there have been two prevailing theories, at polar ends of the spectrum. There is the belief that there are absolute ethical forces, and there is the belief that there are no set standards of judgment. Both of these views seem extreme, attacking our sense of modernity and our sense of personal values. Consequently, most people find their place somewhere moderately between the two. As between belief and unbelief there is agnosticism, or between moralism and immoralism there is amoralism, between the belief in standards and the belief in no standards there is postmodernism. Postmodernism places at its core that there is no unified theory or objective standard by which to judge every thing that is and that “there can be no independent standard for determining which of many rival interpretations […] is the right one” (Fish). Postmodernists thus assign the label “opinion” to most qualitative concepts: a belief in an afterlife, bagels, and international politics cannot be judged on the same scale. This is very egalitarian, allowing people to have personal beliefs while not necessarily bothering others with them. Even in light of the fundamentalist wave that crashed after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, postmodernism, the central philosophy of contemporary America, has withstood the test of time.
As a form of thinking, postmodernism has had an easy existence in the latter half of the 20th century. After World War II, the only conflicts we have had either involved bloodless politics (the Watergate scandal), isolated events (the Cuban missile crisis), or ideological disputes (Korean and Vietnam...
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...st theories, was strong enough (or possibly flimsy enough) to withstand a new fundamentalist revival. The belief in polar rights and wrongs is stronger now, after the attacks, but postmodernism’s invulnerability does not mean that it is incorruptible to these polar beliefs. A new philosophy that incorporates both of these ideas may soon emerge, seeking to pacify opponents of each, and, even if it succeeds, such a ideological fusion would be born in postmodernism, in the belief that this idea of standards and measurements cannot be completely disproven.
Sources Cited
Fish, Stanley. “Condemnation Without Absolutes.” New York Times. A19. 15 Oct. 2001
Halliday, Fred. Two Hours that Shook the World. London: Saqi Books, 2002
Rothstein, Edward. “Attacks on U.S. Challenge the Perspectives of Postmodern True Believers.” New York Times. A17. 22 Sep. 2001.
God tells his children, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation). Death is one of the most frightening and confusing times a person can go through. Watching a loved one pass away is also one of the hardest trials a person can experience. Many people assume that death is a time of pain and the only thing that they can do is mourn and watch their loved one fade away from the earth. This is wrong. There are ways that people can turn a bad situation to good. Dying doesn’t have to be painful and full of suffering. The County Hospice staff makes sure of this. The Hospice staff not only takes care of passing patients physically, but they also take care of the patients emotionally and spiritually. Hospice staff also plays a key role in helping families during the grieving process.
Postmodernism movement started in the 1960’s, carrying on until present. James Morley defined the postmodernism movement as “a rejection of the sovereign autonomous individual with an emphasis upon anarchic collective anonymous experience.” In other words, postmodernism rejects what has been established and makes emphasis on combined revolutionary experiences. Postmodernism can be said it is the "derivate" of modernism; it follows most of the same ideas than modernism but resist the very idea of boundaries. According to our lecture notes “Dominant culture uses perception against others to maintain authority.”
However, aside from the apparent lengthiness of such an analysis, the emphasis of this book is how to practically respond to the secular mindset in the marketplace.
Rest, J., Narvaez, D., Bebeau, M., & Thoma, S. (1999). Postconventional moral thinking: A neo-Kohlbergian approach. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Jameson, Frederick. "Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism" New Left Review. 146 (July-August 1984) Rpt in Storming the Reality Studio. Larry McCaffrey, ed. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1992.
One very successful leader, who was also a hero in the popular press, was Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt made enduring changes in the role of the First Lady of the United States, and championed change in human rights around the world. The First Lady became a career position, a political platform, a media persona, and a worldwide influence at a time when most women did not pursue careers. Eleanor Roosevelt stood up for women when women did not have any rights. She then stood up for African-American, most notably the Tuskegee Airmen during World War Two, at a time when African-American did not have civil rights (The Tuskegee Airmen, n.d.). Once she left the White House, she emerged as a worldwide leader of human right when she authored the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with the United Nations. Throughout her life, she used her high social standing, her political prowess, and own passion for human rights to breach barriers, influence followers, and create lasting change.
Postmodernism can be defined as a rejection of the idea that there are certain unequivocal truths or grand narratives (such as capitalism, faith or science) and as a belief that there are multiple ways of understanding anything, whether it be it culture, philosophy, art, literature, films, etc, or even television... Television reflects the mass-produced society we live in and certain shows exhibit many of the archetypes of postmodernism that have become prevalent in other art forms. Postmodernism can be useful for understanding contemporary television it can help us to relate to the ever-changing world we live in. Television shows like ABC’s Lost (ABC, 2004-2010) dabble in matters of intertextuality, questioning of grand narratives and, amongst others, a manipulation of time through use of flashbacks, flash-forwards and, uniquely to Lost, the flash-sideways.
Siegel, Jason. "The Plot Against America: Philip Roth’s Counter-Plot to American History." Oxford University Press (2012): 130-51. Project MUSE. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
In the world of sport, soccer and football with respect to demographic has had numerous controversies. Although both sport are known famously around the globe, for many years fans from both sides are known for asking, is American football same as soccer? What’s the time limit on both sports? What’s the game objective? Do they use the same ball? However they both have similarities and differences which I will be talking about in this essay.
“Persons intentionally choose to become nurses to help patients meet their health needs,” even when the patient is actively dying. (Wu & Volker, 2012) Hospice nursing and palliative care nursing are both considered end of life care. However, hospice nursing is typically given to patients with a terminal illness and who have less than six months to live. Palliative care is typically given to patients with a life threatening illness, and is used to increase the patient’s quality of life. Choosing a nursing career in either hospice or palliative care can be extremely difficult, but will provide an opportunity for great personal growth. At times, an end-of-life caregiver may feel responsible for their patient’s death, or they may feel isolated due to a lack of support. Nurses new to this field should “feel that their unit acknowledges death as a difficult event and that discussion of death is acceptable in the workplace.” (Lewis, 2013) The most rewarding, and also most difficult, part of being a hospice or palliative care nurse is the ability to be a part of your patient and their family’s life, including their loss, grief, and death. (Wu & Volker, 2012)
In recent years, same-sex relationships have become more encompassing in US society. State legislation is changing such as accepting gay marriages, enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and legal gay adoptions; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is becoming public. Gay-headed families, like heterosexuals, are diverse and varying in different forms. Whether a created family is from previous heterosexual relationships, artificial insemination, or adoption, it deserves the same legal rights heterosexual families enjoy. Full adoption rights needs to be legalized in all states to provide a stable family life for children because sexual orientation does not determine parenting skills, children placed with homosexual parents have better well-being than those in foster care, and there are thousands of children waiting for good homes.
Today soccer is classified as one of the most popular sports in the world, from Europe to South America. A synonym for soccer is “Football.” Soccer is played in approximately every nation of the world. The sport has a lot of international fans, with spectacular stadiums worldwide (Auerbach). Soccer is a sport that brings countries together from all around the world to play.
We can see that the hospice concept is a bio-psychosocial approach to the dying process, concerned with biological, psychological, and social health. Because of its proponents, Hospice is considered a more humane and sensible approach to terminal illness, combining care, comfort, and support of family and friends as the individual faces death. Their concern for dignity and fo...
Families headed by gay and lesbian parents are just as diverse as families led by heterosexual couples (Thompson 36). The only difference in these families is there are two mothers or two fathers. They are seen as “unnatural” by most conservatives and religious organizations and their affiliates (Gateway Child Wellfare Information). The media usually portrays same-sex couples as “white, middle-class, two-parent families who have been together for many years. In actuality, these families are a small percent of the larger LGBTQ family community”. Because of the cultural and societal views of what makes an “ideal family” in the United States as “one mother, one father, and two children,” it is difficult for others to accept those that have two mothers or two fathers. These families are usually started by one parent who “came out” as lesbian or gay after divorcing a husband or wife. Additionally, blended families, which consist of one parent who remarried and the step-parent adopted the child or children that way, through artificial insemination and surrogacy, and there are couples who adopt children from the foster care system and adoption agencies (Thompso...
Postmodernism first appeared around the 1980’s, following a hectic and messy period of time. The postmodernist theory that defines a new era describing the world as society is fragmenting, while authority is de-centering, and real truth does not exist; there are only representations of it. Believers of the postmodernist theory, believe that postmodernism is a mixture of present, past, and future, more specifically, the cultural and spatial elements of these different times (Lemert, 2010). The postmodern age is considered the information age, or even, the technological age. Both of these are evident through the changes that have occurred within the typical marriage and family. One of the main emphases of postmodernism is that no real truth exists, demonstrating the grand narrative. The grand narrative states that the “truth” is invented for the sole purpose of selling things. This is clearly shown, in a different manner, in marriages and families in today’s society. No real truth being in existence creates change in the typical marriage and family.