Ricardo Villarreal

Think, Therefore Think Again

Por Todas Ellas

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Diego Rivera - The Flower VendorA través de la historia y del vergonzoso monopolio masculino del que se ha visto colmada, el hombre ha sido el cáncer más dañino para la mujer, el principal opresor de su libertad, el gran estafador de su inteligencia, el pregonero de su desprestigio, el destructor de su placer, el cobarde obsesionado en censurar su voz, su activismo, su pensamiento, y su lucha social por la justicia y la igualdad.

“La hipocresía masculina está en castigar en la mujer lo que aplauden del hombre,” dice Eduardo Galeano en uno de los relatos de su libro “Mujeres.”

En este magistral repertorio, Galeano nos presenta 167 historias breves, profundas e intensas, y llenas de respeto, dignidad, y admiración por la mujer. Cada historia las representa a todas ellas, inspiradoras mujeres que enfrentaron incalculables adversidades, y que nunca se rindieron por ver cumplir sus sueños.

Algunas de estas mujeres que transformaron a la humanidad y que Galeano humaniza magistralmente en sus relatos son: las hermanas Brontë, quienes tuvieron que esconder su género para poder escribir; Harriet Tubman, quien liberó a cientos de esclavos en EE.UU.; Nellie Bly por hacer periodismo de investigación en territorio de hombres; Marie Curie y sus dos premios Nobel en química y física; Susan Anthony, por su incansable activismo por el sufragio femenino; y Sor Juana Inés e Hipatia por pensadoras y preguntonas.

Por otro lado, Galeano logra también que sus palabras aterricen un mensaje preciso de denuncia patriarcal. La lectura nos obliga a digerir el amargo sufrimiento y las injusticias por las que muchas mujeres han pasado a lo largo de la historia, a veces incluso sacrificando sus propias vidas, en defensa de su dignidad y su libertad.

Entre aquellas historias de mujeres que murieron luchando por sus ideales, están las de Olympia de Gouges, activista por los derechos de la mujer durante la Revolución Francesa, la antropóloga Myrna Mack quien fue asesinada por criticar los abusos del gobierno de Guatemala hacia los indígenas, y la revolucionaria pacifista Rosa Luxemburgo, quien “quería un mundo donde la justicia no fuera sacrificada en nombre de la libertad, ni la libertad fuera sacrificada en nombre de la justicia.”

También dolorosos son los relatos de mujeres sedientas de justicia, pero que terminaron siendo víctimas de la brutalidad misógina y murieron en total anonimato.

Vivimos en tiempos muy contradictorios, de cambios políticos y sociales muy inestables. De repente siento que mucho ha mejorado en el tema de equidad de género, y a veces me angustio porque percibo que damos marcha atrás.

Falta mucho por hacer, y el primer paso que debe dar el hombre que no ha hecho nada para enmendar el rumbo hacia la igualdad, es dejar de ser obstáculo y convertirse en defensor de los derechos de la mujer, convertirse en un feminista más.

 

* Imagen: foto parcial de la pintura “Vendedora de Flores” de Diego Rivera.

Overpopulation: The Biggest Threat

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OverpopulationWhy is overpopulation the biggest threat humanity faces today?

The world has 7.5 billion people and estimates show population growth will reach 11.2 billion by the year 2100. The most alarming issue accompanying these numbers is the fact that our planet’s resources are simply not enough to sustain the entire population.

In her eye-opening book “Move Upstream, A Call to Solve Overpopulation,” Karen Shragg delivers a powerful message on the gravity of overpopulation, its devastating effects, and the actions needed to solve this critical issue.

While it is true there is a lot of activism around the world on many important topics, unfortunately most of these efforts are conducted downstream focusing on the symptoms, rather than the root causes of the problems.

Shragg stresses the urgency to shift focus and move upstream “to get humans to live within our planet’s ecological limits.”

One of the most revealing pieces of information in the book comes from the shocking discrepancy between the number of people and the Earth’s resources we use for food, water, shelter, and energy.

According to Global Footprint Network, a sustainable population for our planet is between 1.5 and 3 billion people. This means the world population is exceeding the Earth’s capacity by at least 4.5 billion people!

In different words, humanity today consumes in one year the amount of resources that it takes our planet 1.5 years to regenerate! Reducing consumption or trying to increase the planet’s resources is no longer enough; sustainable balance can only be achieved with a reduction in human numbers.

More specifically to the United States, the country’s resources can adequately sustain a population of 150 million people. And yet, we are 320 million.

Many people don’t think a country like the United States is overpopulated because there is plenty of empty land. But as Shragg explains, open space is not the issue; the United States has suffered from shortages of water and other resources in recent years.

While climate change is a big concern around the world, and many efforts are made to limit our consumption and be more environmentally conscious, the truth is climate change is a symptom of overpopulation.

The scientific consensus on climate change is conclusive the warming of the planet is related to human activity, and there is an insurmountable amount of activism to fight global warming.

But as Karen Shragg reiterates, the problem with this activism lies in its failure to showcase the undeniable link between climate change and overpopulation.

If we think that just by driving electric vehicles, recycling, switching to solar energy, and becoming vegetarians, we are going to overturn climate change, we are in total denial. If anything, we are just helping slow down the imminent collapse of our natural resources.

Population reduction is an upstream solution that urgently needs to be incorporated by influencing activists as part of their global campaigns, and needs to be a higher priority than the aforementioned downstream efforts.

What are other solutions to fight overpopulation?

Feminism

We all need to get on-board the feminist ship as women’s empowerment is key in the reduction of family sizes. Additionally, we need to bring birth control out of obscurity and make it more easily accessible in the most adverse regions in the world.

Religions

Religions can be part of the solution, but they need a serious update that incorporates true openness and reason. They must act smart and accept the science-based evidence on climate change and our resources.

Christianity, the world’s top religion, has over 2 billion followers who base their spiritual teachings on an ancient book written back when our planet was significantly less populated. But today, the “be fruitful and multiply” edict (Genesis 1:28) is not only obsolete, but dangerous to keep promoting as our planet’s resources continue to diminish.

Religions also need to acknowledge birth control as an effective weapon against the threat of overpopulation. If they don’t get behind this, religions will be part of the problem.

World Leaders

Politicians don’t like to publicly speak about overpopulation because, as the author accurately points out, it puts them at a risky political spotlight, as it brings out two highly debatable topics: immigration and abortion.

Perhaps we need to stop seeing immigration as a political or human rights issue, and see it as an ethical issue. Does it make sense to bring in more people when we are already over-pumping our aquifers, ferociously devouring our forests, and obscenely extracting more oil from the ground because of a never-ending demand?

World leaders and decision makers need to stop fearing and ignoring the subject, and make it a vital topic of discussion for the sake of humanity.

Today, the world is adding 9,000 people every hour; 200,000 people every day; 1 million people every 4.5 days; and 80 million people every year!

Overpopulation can be solved, but the time to act is now.

I highly recommend “Move Upstream, A Call to Solve Overpopulation” by Karen Shragg. It triggered in me a profound reflection on how our actions today are extremely crucial to the future of humanity in a world were population and resources can secure sustainable balance.

Our planet has been generous to us, saving it is the least we can do in return.

 

What are religions good for if God doesn’t exist?

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Darwin EvolutionIf you were to ask hardcore atheists like Christopher Hitchens or Richard Dawkins if they think there could be anything useful in religions, you would most likely get a firm “no” for an answer.

But perhaps, if we make it clear that the usefulness of religion we are seeking has nothing to do with dogmatic applicability, but rather with its successful model as an institution that attracts people with common interests, then we would probably have a different response.

So, what comes next once we have agreed God doesn’t exist and have become part of the fast growing number of atheists in the world?

In his book “Religion for Atheists,” Alain de Botton shares with us thought-provoking points of view regarding how a secular society could benefit from strategies used by religions.

I know in principle it may sound a bit conflicting for committed atheists to even consider adopting religious practices, but if we look at some of the real needs of community and the protection of secular ideas and values, it could be worth reviewing them.

Moreover, it is also important to notice that many of the religious practices and rituals were originally pagan, so atheists shouldn’t be too worried about adopting ideas that actually belong to the public domain.

Let’s begin with the concept of community, a major item of which there really isn’t a genuine socializing structure for the non-believers. In fact, many people today who do not believe in God continue going to religious temples simply to satisfy the need of belonging to a community.

Atheists haven’t figured out a place where solitary non-believers can gather to meet strangers and talk about general human concerns that don’t involve professional life.

Alain de Botton is accurate when describing how modern society access to community is one “centered around the worship of professional success.” I can tell you, from anecdotal experience, that oftentimes I get asked the question “what do you do?” when meeting people at a non-business event.

Let me be clear that I have no problem answering that, but I’d rather know the person better through a substantial conversation and develop a friendship first, rather than a business connection.

When people prefer to focus on other people’s business titles, rather than their personal value, we take away the potential of creating a community by segregating people based on professional success.

And this is one thing religions manage well. People that go to church listen to religious leaders talk about happiness, family, overcoming difficulties, and other topics that touch on human conditions and emotions, not issues related to business.

When it comes to formal education, there are contrasting differences in its approach between religions and secularism. The author points out how “secular education delivers information, while religious education delivers sermons.”

By doing this, a church is engaging more with its followers as its objective is to impact and influence their lives. Atheists, on the other hand, are missing an opportunity to provide non-believers with a similar guidance in educational settings.

Alain de Botton covers other important areas where secularism could take advantage of religious practices. But one that I have personally seen imperative for a while, comes when he shows a conclusive comparative between books vs institutions.

If there is one thing atheists do have plenty of access to is books. There are many exceptionally enriching secular books and best-selling authors that have influenced millions of people not only in their way of thinking, but also in giving them the courage to publicly come out as atheists without feeling guilty or ashamed about it.

But relying only on books is not enough if a secular society wants to achieve a wider impact. Local groups and meetups are good efforts, but nonetheless their influence is still minor in scale and lack the structure to encourage formal discipline.

The formation of well-organized supportive secular institutions is the answer to further protect and continuously promote the shared ideas and feelings expressed in those books.

But to form an institution, secular leaders must first acknowledge the needs atheists have of an established setting, where universal human concepts such as altruism, compassion, kindness, friendship, and gratitude, to name a few, can be examined regularly.

As the advancement of science continues spreading worldwide, and as more and more people leave their religions behind, the need for a secular institution will become even more crucial.

 

Seven Leadership Lessons from Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea”

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Skiff at SeaErnest Hemingway’s epic story of Santiago, an experienced old fisherman determined to change his luck by sailing into the deep sea with the goal of making the biggest catch of his life, is one that shares with us so many enriching lessons on life, but also on leadership.

On the most intense and vivid passage of the novel, our lonely hero struggles at sea for three gruesome days against a giant marlin in a live-or-die battle that will bestow the greatest personal triumph for Santiago.

Here’s my take on the 7 most valuable leadership lessons Ernest Hemingway shares on this masterful narration.

1. Knowledge is more Powerful than Strength

In preparation for his journey, Santiago tells the young boy and loyal assistant Manolin, “I may not be as strong as I think, but I know tricks and I have a resolution.”

Understanding his surroundings at sea, the behavior of wind and weather patterns, the time of day, and the different combative movements of the fish once caught in the line, helped Santiago be more strategic, resourceful, and wise on his decisions to dominate the strength of the marlin.

If he had used only his strength, he would have gotten weak and exhausted very quickly unable to defeat a bigger, faster, and stronger fish, and would have eventually failed.

2. You can’t do Everything Alone

At several times during the epic struggle, the solitary Santiago wishes his young friend Manolin was present to help him. Particularly the boy could have assisted him as he got tired and needed to rest, or when he started feeling severe cramps.

Once the giant marlin was caught and secured on the side of the skiff, Santiago had to repeal several aggressive shark attacks on the marlin. Having a helping hand could have prevented the unfortunate ensuing damage.

3. Respect your Rivals

Even though the old fisherman fully understands the rivalry he is facing against the marlin, he never humiliates the big noble fish. Quite the opposite, Santiago has a deep admiration for the marlin’s dignity and beauty, and often refers to the fish as his brother and friend.

In fact, after having caught and killed his worthy opponent, there are instances of regret where Santiago feels sorry for what he has done. But self-reflecting about his place in life gives him some peace:

“You were born to be a fisherman as the fish was born to be a fish… You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after.”

4. Fight with what you have

As the old man embarks on his return with his big catch, the fight is not yet over. He now must battle with sharks wanting to eat his fish and ruin his extraordinary conquest.

Having lost his harpoon and realizing his unfavorable situation, Santiago wishes he had a stone for his knife and were better armed. But he couldn’t stop in the middle of the fight to think how he could have done better.

“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”

It is useless to spend any time on the “what ifs” and better to focus on maximizing your resources and abilities.

5. Don’t Rely on Luck

Additionally, we hear “luck” mentioned a couple of times throughout the book. As the old man embarked on his adventure, he thought to himself while at sea, “It is better to be lucky, but I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”

Even though luck is always welcome, we can’t depend on luck to help us come out victorious. However, readiness and determination are more likely to get us there.

6. Be Inspired by a Hero

Santiago loved baseball, and he idolized the Yankees’ star Joe DiMaggio. The old man identified with him personally, not only because he was the son of a poor fisherman, but because DiMaggio also struggled with a serious injury in his career before making a triumphant comeback.

Thinking of the great DiMaggio during his brutal fight gave Santiago the motivation and confidence he needed to endure his hardship at sea.

7. Never Give Up

The old man had gone eighty-four days without catching a fish, but this didn’t deter him. On the contrary, it gave him the courage to try harder and risk it all by going into the deep sea, where no other fisherman had gone.

Santiago then braved the match of his life catching a giant marlin; an insurmountable accomplishment he earned through patience, intelligence, skills, and determination. If this wasn’t enough, on his return he heroically confronted a shiver of sharks who ultimately devoured his fish, leaving only the meatless skeleton from tail to nose.

But losing the fish meat was no longer relevant. During his battle against the sharks, he tells himself, “man is not made for defeat… a man can be destroyed but not defeated.”

The old man returned to land with the giant carcass tied on the side of his boat, and his triumph duly recognized as the people in town were astonished to see the largest catch ever made.

8. Dreams of Lions

I’ll add an eighth lesson, which is related to life more than leadership. The old man frequently dreams of lions, referring to a time in the past when he was a young boy sailing in Africa mesmerized by seeing lions on the beaches.

This was a time of his life when he felt happiness and pride. The symbolism Hemingway uses here is obvious as a group of lions is called a pride.

The sea as with life, is a place full of risks and rewards, where we can find our hopes and fulfill our dreams, where we find our friends and our enemies, where we can fail or come out triumphant.

Life is made of memorable moments and it’s important to focus and continue creating moments that bring value to our lives, that make us better people, that give us the opportunity to love and improve the lives of those around us, and that give us a sense of accomplishment and happiness.

For when we reach the end of our lives, we can look back and say, “well done.”

 

How Death Makes Us More Alive

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Train TracksWe become thinkers the very precise moment when we acknowledge death and discover our own mortality.

I believe the first time I truly grasped the concept of death and realized I will die one day was when I was 8 years-old. I was at home reading the shocking news about the Mexico City earthquake of 1985 and the number of deaths from the tragedy.

I remember the uneasy feeling in my body and the impossibility of doing something about it as I was holding the newspaper and seeing the word “deaths” in the story.

As I discovered that death was real, thinking about how to deal with this topic started to become serious business as well.

In his book, “The Questions of Life”, Spanish philosopher Fernando Savater says that if death is the eternal state of not being, then we have already defeated it: the day we were born.

And even if it is only one time we will defeat death, this one time and opportunity we have of being alive, every day and instant that we continue to live and enjoy life will be triumphantly ours.

With this, not only does one start to think more about life the moment we know we will die, but we also begin to feel more alive than ever.

What do we know about death? Certainly not much. We do know, as Savater explains, that death is very personal and non-transferable. We cannot die for someone else, we can only die our own death.

But death, besides being distinctly personal, is also an accurate concept of true impartiality. Death does not discriminate on race, gender, or socioeconomic class; there is no individual who can escape from it. In the eyes of death we are all equal.

The certainty of death is what gives more importance to our lives. Everything we do, all our work, our hobbies, our social interactions… are all ways of resisting death.

But death is such an incomprehensible thing and so inevitably personal that it also represents the biggest fear for most people.

Some people fear about the unknown that follows death and confront such distress believing in a supernatural after-life world: a mystical place of eternal joy or punishment.

Others, not believing in gods rewarding or punishing humans, fear about the possibility that there is absolutely nothing after death, and that nothing is quite terrifying to them as well.

Perhaps a comforting way to digest this topic comes from Greek philosopher and atomic materialist Epicurus who advises on why we shouldn’t worry nor lose sleep over death: There is nothing to be afraid of because we never coexist with death and we will never feel death, as feeling is an activity (and privilege) of the living.

To feel distressed about the (gazillion) years ahead of us in which we will no longer be alive is just as capricious as to worry about the billions of years before we were born.

If we did not feel any pain being absent for all those billions of years, why should we feel concerned about a future of eternal absence?

Savater also mentions that part of the anguish we feel about death has to do with facing two difficult realities: all the joys of life we will miss when it comes to our own death, and because it will leave us without those we love in the case of others’ deaths.

It’s the conscience of death that makes life a very serious issue to think about. It’s mysterious and marvelous, a type of miracle for which we must fight and constantly reflect.

So death inevitably makes us thinkers. But not thinkers about death itself, but about life. And that should make us feel more alive and grateful.

A popular proverb says, “no one is too young to die, nor too old to live one more day.” It’s up to us to fully take advantage of the time we have and live the best life we can.