tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post1118637132314618714..comments2024-01-24T11:41:28.022+00:00Comments on A Cuban In London: Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and MusicA Cuban In Londonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-92199219126070398242014-09-25T00:26:37.218+01:002014-09-25T00:26:37.218+01:00interesting thoughts...i guess darwinian is one th...interesting thoughts...i guess darwinian is one thing...but when we make alterations to better ourselves that is not evolution...its playing our own god...and then we are surprised when it blows up...haBrian Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00722940075884718007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-48147554498824870952014-09-24T23:15:38.542+01:002014-09-24T23:15:38.542+01:00Lovely Celtic music! I prefer competitions that ar...Lovely Celtic music! I prefer competitions that are with myself because to improve I need only do better than the last time rather than push someone down to get ahead.Sarah Laurencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00423008641739156182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-55195760953148905262014-09-24T04:49:48.924+01:002014-09-24T04:49:48.924+01:00you know...most races between people, companies, n...you know...most races between people, companies, nations...whathever in this world are unequal and unfair... i too wished the stronger one would help the other to reach their goals as well instead of just having the own advantage in mind..some do..that is good news..if everyone would the world would look differentClaudiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03011763027311966186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-1052525371339779682014-09-23T22:47:06.448+01:002014-09-23T22:47:06.448+01:00Reading my reply to you, Fram, I now realise that ...Reading my reply to you, Fram, I now realise that I made all kinds of errors. I apologise, my only excuse is that I was half-asleep, having just come back from a dance class I went to at The Place. The writing was erratic but the rationale is the same. We are still human and can work on our differences. Whatever we did in the past out of instinct (running away from a lion and letting the weaker person become the feline's meal), can be reworked now.<br /><br />"Convert" me? Man, many have tried and none has succeeded! Fidel almost did but he, too, failed. :-)<br /><br />Greetings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-82000043724130832502014-09-23T07:37:10.578+01:002014-09-23T07:37:10.578+01:00I wish you (and everyone) would read Will and Arie...I wish you (and everyone) would read Will and Ariel Durant's, "The Lessons of History," some sunny Sunday, CiL. I think it might influence you in some areas .... maybe even "convert" you in a few. In the meanwhile, take care and have fun.Fram Actualhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01540773153894050197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-37943639781253371302014-09-23T04:44:34.498+01:002014-09-23T04:44:34.498+01:00In an ideal world, your solution would be the perf...In an ideal world, your solution would be the perfect and most compassionate one! <br /><br />Wonderful metaphor about so much in life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-46983450525659256852014-09-22T23:40:55.584+01:002014-09-22T23:40:55.584+01:00Fram, like you I am a pragmatist (well, I have to,...Fram, like you I am a pragmatist (well, I have to, I was born and raised in Cuba. It doesn't get more idealistic and utopian than that) but I disgree on the freedom vs equality.<br /><br />Bearing in mind that both are relative (we will never be totally free, nor will we ever totally equal) in the same way that human beings do nto fornicate with the person they come across, no matter how attractive, there are other impulses that can be suppressed. Competition can be manipulated, it can be regulated and it can be harnessed under special conditions. That's wha makes us humans, that despite our survival instinct (and I agree with you that maybe competition was key to our survival as a species) we can be rational enough to either work on the causes that bind the first man (including the self-inflicted ones) or talk the second fellow into giving his partner (not opponent anymore) an oportunity to catch up. That's not idealism or wishful thinking but a reality that has happpened, although in small settings.<br /><br />Thanks to everyone for your response. I'm glad my post has generated such a healthy debate.<br /><br />Valerie, apolgoies, I will a solution this week.<br /><br />Greetings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-52832059678582313982014-09-22T11:44:50.440+01:002014-09-22T11:44:50.440+01:00There's a lot of truth in your article, Cuban....There's a lot of truth in your article, Cuban. As an oldie I beginning to dread the future!<br /><br />I'm having trouble reading the text on your new style blog (too wide) ... so forgive me if sometimes I don't comment.Valeriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12099030819314552958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-3652512321513223572014-09-22T01:46:56.263+01:002014-09-22T01:46:56.263+01:00Thanks for this thought-provoking post, and super ...Thanks for this thought-provoking post, and super interesting example. I think part of the problem is that the rewards of "winning" as opposed to losing have become so extreme. There could be some competition--and honestly, it is somewhat a part of human nature--but to reward, let's say, a CEO with a pay package that is thousands times what a worker pays is just ridiculous and unfair. The value added by the CEO is not truly that much greater, and even if it were, the satisfaction that he or she would get from the job is itself a compensation--the person does not need to be paid so many time more to strive for the more powerful jobs. At any rate, this is, at least, part of my view. But I really enjoyed your example--of course, there is much truth in the impediments people face, and they are worse in our culture. To some degree they must transcend them--sometimes just impossible--so difficult--thanks. k. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-53189000708510547992014-09-21T21:07:12.127+01:002014-09-21T21:07:12.127+01:00Society in general, often thinks differently (bett...Society in general, often thinks differently (better) than it behaves (poorly). It's intensified in politics and media. Sad, but true.Hilaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12787493532006658679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-27217005257606242142014-09-21T20:33:48.323+01:002014-09-21T20:33:48.323+01:00I am not sure if it is idealism emerging from you...I am not sure if it is idealism emerging from you, CiL, hope or "faith" (whoops) that the best in us will rise to the surface, or simply an optimistic nature. Some of each, probably, but I think you are attempting to remedy an external condition of life which has been/is/will be created through a fundamentally internal process: If and until mankind begins complex genetic engineering of itself, the situation you describe probably will continue on pretty much unchanged ad infinitum. Such a fundamental characteristic of the human psyche cannot be altered by either church or state.<br /><br />I would also argue that without this competitive (or survival of the fittest) drive, we, as a species, would not have survived even to this point. Besides being a dialectician by instinct, a pragmatist from experience and a fan of "writers" like Will Durant and Joseph Campbell by education, I think freedom and equality are opposing forces and the societal battle for one over the other will rise and fall like the waves of an ocean.<br /><br />Compassion, mercy, empathy and helping hands are fine, but I tend to fall on the side of the freedom group and think situations such as you describe are best determined by individuals individually. To add sort of an antithesis to your thesis, CiL, if a lion were chasing your two runners, for instance, and the stronger stopped to assist the weaker .... well, there ends the story of the march of civilization.<br /><br />Ah, here comes the sun (afternoon now for me) .... time to go outdoors. Thank you, CiL, for an enjoyable, interesting, thoughtful post.Fram Actualhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01540773153894050197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-25663466762045292292014-09-21T19:39:39.395+01:002014-09-21T19:39:39.395+01:00Ouch. Sadly our politicians are not only whisperi...Ouch. Sadly our politicians are not only whispering in the ear of the bound runner, they are telling the assembled crowd how lazy that runner is. And it makes my heart hurt.Elephant's Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06650565833097914052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-54383335875706517472014-09-21T18:48:56.846+01:002014-09-21T18:48:56.846+01:00Thanks for your comments.
The language is Celtic,...Thanks for your comments.<br /><br />The language is Celtic, Lisa, and the singer is Scottish. I love her voice.<br /><br />Gretings from London.A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-62018395235631400732014-09-21T17:19:54.175+01:002014-09-21T17:19:54.175+01:00I have missed your quips and insights. Welcome bac...I have missed your quips and insights. Welcome back.Rosaria Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03133147851332084180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-20262881736702490812014-09-21T16:28:22.017+01:002014-09-21T16:28:22.017+01:00I echo Pat Hatt's comment. Sending you a hug ...I echo Pat Hatt's comment. Sending you a hug from Montreal.Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12692170857496442623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-8673603639079194342014-09-21T16:18:02.809+01:002014-09-21T16:18:02.809+01:00Oh yes. One of my daughters has dreadful eyesight,...Oh yes. One of my daughters has dreadful eyesight, and the teachers took off her glasses (for safety) and then said she had to do the high jump - when she couldn't even see it - one of the many occasions I came into school to bat for her!<br /><br />Competition maybe a fact of life. But surely one day we'll grow out of the worst of its excesses and understand that we must care for the 'losers' - those who can never compete because they are frail or disabled or simply poor. Instead we have a government which insists they are responsible for their own poverty/disability and only a bit of a kicking will get them heading in the "right direction".JOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-55188912571866315742014-09-21T14:42:21.376+01:002014-09-21T14:42:21.376+01:00I listened to the music video Cubano, and enjoyed ...I listened to the music video Cubano, and enjoyed it, but wondered what language it wasLisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02399300464457820101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-50557782635421369742014-09-21T14:19:24.432+01:002014-09-21T14:19:24.432+01:00This post really resonated with me, CiL.
We see it...This post really resonated with me, CiL.<br />We see it every day, don't we...those people who strive to succeed at any cost? Who never give a thought to whom they step on in their race for supremacy...and, sadly, it is there in all walks of life, from the factory floor worker to the highest government official.<br />But in fairness to human frailty, we are taught to be competitive from our first day in the school environment.<br /><br />Perhaps it is time for fundamental change at every stage of life...lessons in Humanity coming before all other subjects would be a good start in my opinion.<br />Well...I guess we can live in hope!<br /><br />An extremely thought-provoking post, as ever...many thanks!<br /><br />Happy Sunday :)Ygrainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00300519608303898969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1165773290907101242.post-61069393836692925782014-09-21T14:16:18.137+01:002014-09-21T14:16:18.137+01:00Very true, like everything competition can be good...Very true, like everything competition can be good and bad. Once money becomes involved though, it is never good. Always cut those corners to win and ruin lives in the process.Pat Hatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07745293224202430152noreply@blogger.com