Re: Mr. Castro and John Lennon


"NotTheOnlyOne" <rbnyc2000@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1154888719.908262.77740@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Excellant reply!! Full of passion and thought. This is what I was hoping
for after all.

It helps to know that at that point in John Lennon's life he was adrift.
He was married to Yoko - that fact alone would dive any man to a deep
depression. But he also had his Guru fail him. HARE KIRISHA! He had no
rudder and no compass to guide him then.

krp wrote:
Yes they monitor this newsgroup.

Well of course, why wouldn't they. Its thier job and you know what? You
never know where things like this will end up in the food chain. Don't
forget that we are all human beings and as such we are extremely
curious creatures by nature, Thier first task is to determine
relevence, of import or merely mindless dribble. Next is to determine
the nature of this thing, is it friend or foe and being in the business
they are, they will assume the latter until proven otherwise. That's
standard procedure I believe and a logical way to proceed. But just to
put them a little more at ease they should know that I hate
unrestricted capitalism and false democracies based on the former. I do
on the other hand believe in free and democratic societies. But we can
talk about such details later. Lets keep it light and in the more
theoretical, philosophical relm for now.

Given the psycho behavior of the INEPT CIA one can understand the
paranoia in Cuba. Sometimes it is hard to tell friend from foe. Sometime it
may appear that one is a foe when they are really a friend and some people
pretend to be a friend when they are anything but that. In my case some
think I am an enemy because first I am an American and next that I am
critical of some things about Cuba. They need to read me much more closly
than that. I will always be more critical of a friend than an enemy.

Yes you oversimplfy the issues.

Well of course but that is what will lead to further discussion and
enlightenment will it not? I have often found that things are far more
complex then they first appear. I have also come to know that a complex
thing is usually comprised of many other simpler things acting in a
complex manner.

But sometimes things are exactly as they appear.

Yes you are ignorant of the conditions in Cuba as most North Americans
are.

Yes, that is a problem and one of the first we should try to overcome I
would think. Don't you agree? A lack of knowledge can be a dangerous
and tragic thing. It can lead to misjudgement and misunderstanding. The
reasons for this can be varied. Still, being human beings we have basic
or fundemental principles, ideas and dreams in common. Conditions here
and there can vary but many of the underlaying wants and desires such
as living in peace and happiness transend such barriers and are common
to all mankind.

I firmly agree that a lack of knowledge is dangerous. I oppose the
American embargo strongly. I think travel should be open with Cuba. I think
the more Americans can see Cuba as it is TWO things will happen. The first
is that the ANNOYING BULL*** on both side of the Cuba thing will be
deleted, and secondly the more quickly the problems that exist in Cuba will
be changed.

Now as for ignorence of which I fully admited. Is not the acknowledgement
of ones own ignorence the first step towards acquiring
wisdom?

In this case the first step might be to actually visit Cuba and see for
yourself. It is neither what Washington claims it is not what Havana claims
it is, reality is vastly different that the political bull***. I prefer to
relate to the people instead. I married a Cuban woman. It is a very
successful marriage.

To link that song to the reality of Cuba is just dumb. It is far more
complex than that.

My friend there is no such thing as a dumb question or dumb idea. After
all did it not bring us into conversation which being the ultimate
intent was rather clever when you think about it. Now as to the
complexity of the situation you are right my friends. Things are far
more complex then they appear. So now that we have broken the ice so to
speak, let's dive into some of these more complex issues.

No sometimes things are more complex than out ability to understand
them, they are what they appear to be. In this case Cuba is broken. It was
broken by corruption and incompetence and a mindless zeal for socialism.
Whatever the horrors were before the "revolution" and there were many, it is
worse today because somebody took their eye off the ball about what the
revolution was really all about. Inflexible people who could not balance
social justice with the human need for freedom. In inability to see an
alternate path. Narrowmindedness infests all levels of human endeavor and
capitalism as well as socialism. It is the fear to improvise and adapt. The
funny thing is the Cuban people are some of the most inventive people in the
world. That creativity has been stiffled far too long.

I used to know a story about flowers in a field, looking beautiful,
wanting for nothing, do nothing, simply exisiting. I can't really
remember it now but I do remember the point. It's that we are not
flowers or mere animals. We are human beings and human beings are
driven by purpose, by desire to be more, by the need to explore, to
know and to create. Its what seperates us from the lower forms of
existance and elevates our nature. I have heard that Mr. Castro was an
insatiably curious man with a very quick and agile mind. I would hope
that this is still true for im and for others around him.

He is a brilliant man. A bit too inflexible for Cuba's good, but
brilliant never the less.

Let's tackle one of the big, deep, complex questions. Why are we born?
I mean what's the point and what are we supposed to do anyway? Isn't
it amazing how simple these questions really are? They are part of the
universal underlaying questions of why, what, when where and how.

I am one of those who thinks he knows why he was born. To GROW. To
progress.

While I don't even begin to try and say I've figured these questions
out, I do have some rather humble opinions regarding them. Want to hear
them? Great! I knew you would. <wink>

Okay :-)))

: )

First and perhaps the most important is I have figured out they are the
"right" questions to ask. This is not a trivial revelation. They also
appear to be universally asked by all people. That in itself speaks to
thier profound nature does it not? And last but not least I have found
that they are not mere curiousities but are somehow connected to the
very core of who ever or what ever we are. Which leads me to think that
we are beings of exploration, meaning and purpose. Or at least that was
the basic idea.

The universal question is "who am I - why am I here?" Science fiction
writers have been building off that question since science fiction began.
Heinlein was one who really expended the field.

So why are we born and what is the point of it all. I believe it is so
that we can have a chance to be all that we can be. I think that we are
born into a world that has everything we need to make this searching
for answers possible.

I think this life is a training ground for the next. And that that life
will be for the one agter that and so on.

So what does it mean to be all that you can be? I think it means that
we are driven deep inside to want to achieve. We want to be stronger,
wiser, more complete persons. We want to know all there is to know, To
experience all there is to experience. To feel all the complex human
emotions in all thier wonder, all their joy, all thier sadness, all
thier truest and deepest meaning.

And you need to be free to do that.

I don't know if this is in fact the purpose to it all but I hope so.
You spoke of the love of a good woman and the importance it had in your
life. I agree with you completely. Love in all its forms is probably
the most powerful, profound and mysterious of all human experiences and
emotions.

We all have the need to love and to be loved. Is there anyone out there
who is in thier right mind or not twisted by darkness that would
disagree? Who would not wish for thier fellow human beings to find
happiness, to love and to be loved. Is this not something we all want
and want for all?

It is our nature to pursue such higher order concepts of existance of
which love is of the highest in nature. And when you think about it
does it not fit right in with the master plan, the point of it all
which is to become all you can, to become more?

It and so many other things are a basic human needs and that which
gives us purpose. It is the ability to pursue such higher order
existance that seperate us from the lower forms and frees us from mere
animal existance. This is freedom. Freedom to be as much as we can be,
to be happy, to be loved, to grow and to gain wisdom, knowledge and
compassion. This is a univeral right of all human life. This is the
truest definition of human freedom.

In our roles as human beings it is our right to pursue these higher
order states. It is also our responcibility to help one another to
achieve them. Who would stand against there fellow human beings
achieving great knowledge, great wisdom and experiencing great and true
love in all its many and splendid forms?

All human beings must have the ability to pursue these great and higher
purposes. We must help each other along the way. No one, no religion,
no government, no law or belief must ever take away this fundamental
right or diminish the nature of human freedom.

Freedom to be all you can be. Freedom to decide your own destiny.
Freedom is not a mere word my friend or political plaything. It is a
"Way" indeeed, it is "The Way" to all higher levels of existance.
Freedom brings Light to the human heart and soul, without which there
is only darkness. That's a fairly profound but simple concept isn't it.

The perfection of the systems and social structures needed to grant
such freedom to our fellow human beings should be the main purpose of
all governments. The realization of this higher purpose is what makes a
great leader and a fair and just government. Another profound and
equally simple concept.

These are just my humble opinions, one human being to another.
One friend to another friend(s).

Not a bad start. I have to say even at my age - visiting Cuba - being
with the Cuban people has taught me a great deal. For that I will be
eternally grateful. I also have my wife to thank Cuba for giving me. In her
I can truly say; "The revolution has given me everything!"



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