The Caribbean Mosaic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Caribbean Mosaic - Essay Example Before the Cuban Revolution took place, thousands and millions of women and Cuban citizens who had an African descent suffered a lot from social and racial discrimination (Prevost, 2009, p. 138). Due to the unequal educational opportunity between men and women, majority of the women were allowed to work only as a domestic helper and prostitutes. Because of the Cuban people’s desire not only to gain national independence from other countries like the United States and the Soviet Union but also to construct a society that is capable of improving its health and educational program without having the people undergo social problems related to racism and sexism, the Cuban Revolution which applies â€Å"the concept of military organization as a basis for communist revolution† took place (Horowitz, 1998, p. 566). Given that the United States is pro-democratic type of government, the United States has maintained a trade embargo status with Cuba making it illegal for any U.S. cor poration to conduct business transactions in Cuba. As stated in the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, the United States will continue to maintain trade status until such time that the Cuban regime decided to move towards democratization and high respect for human rights (Department of State - United States of America, 2009). For the past 36 years, the United States has no formal diplomatic changes towards Cuba. For this reason, this study aims to discuss the best US foreign policy applicable with Cuba. Should the US foreign policy towards Cuba remain as the current trade embargo status? Have we reached the point whereby the US foreign policy for Cuba should start lifting up the trade embargo status? As part of going through the main discussion, whether or not the foreign relationship between the United States and Vietnam – which is also a communist state should be considered as a precedent for normalising relations between the United States and

Winning is the only thing :: essays research papers

Randy Roberts and James Olson in their book, Winning is the Only Thing: Sports in America since 1945, explored the world of sports since the end of World War II. Their book covers the many aspects of sports, from the athletes and management to the fans and the media. The authors first make clear differences in the way people viewed sports before the war and how they did after the war. The book talks a lot about the astounding transformation of sports in America during the post war era. The objective of sports before world warII matched up to the original idea of such games. Athletes, for the most part, â€Å"played â€Å"to do just that- every sports as their hobbies (Roberts, Olson xi) games were intended to be fun for the players; and just as a board game of â€Å"candy land,† sports were activities in which the game was on the court, field, diamond, or whatever the â€Å" game board† was. The minds of people were filled with war and the everyday challenges of life (xi). Thus, people found sports to be a way of escape from all that they faced fans as well as athletes. However, in a matter of a few years the entertainment of sports changed dramatically. After World War II, it could be said that Americans put their identity, worth, and security in sports. They felt the need to stand up to the world to show them who their country was and what it stood for. â€Å"Americans came to take sports very seriously, and they watched and played for the highest economic, politic, and personal stakes†(xii).other countries began to represent themselves through sports as well; and, in a sense, the war continued though the means of these â€Å"games.† Especially in the Olympics, whole countries fought to win and be seen as the superior. Sports was a way of, not only representing pride in the athletes, but also a way of showing the world who its government, communities, families, and all that America stood for. Roberts and Olson describe athletes during this era as national soldiers of sport (19) as in the defeat of war, when America lost in the name of sports, it was in no way gone unnoticed by the majority of the country. For America, losing many of the medals during the 1960 Olympic games was a reason to make excuses for such an unfortunate happening of the country(22.

“Born To Run” by Christopher McDougall Essay Essay

In Christopher McDougall’s â€Å"Born to Run† a lot has been written about the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico and their almost superhuman ability to run hundreds of miles over rugged terrain while suffering little in the way of fatigue or injury. It appears that the Tarahumara are the last members of the human race to live up to our true evolutionary potential. You could chalk up their success to a lack of junk food, stress and the evils of 21st century society, or perhaps they have been somehow genetically endowed with endurance abilities that the rest of us lost at the beginning of the Industrial Age. We learn that this seemingly lost ability is actually alive and well in the strangest places and people. In â€Å"Born to Run†, McDougall tracks down members of the reclusive Tarahumara Indian tribe in the Mexican Copper Canyons. After being repeatedly injured as a runner himself, McDougall marvels at the tribe’s ability to run ultra-distances (over 320 km) at incredible speeds, without getting the routine injuries of most American runners. The book has received attention in the sporting world for McDougall’s description of how he overcame injuries by modeling his running after the Tarahumara. He asserts that modern cushioned running shoes are a major cause of running injury, pointing to the thin sandals called huaraches worn by Tarahumara runners, and the explosion of running-related injuries since the introduction of modern running shoes in 1972. Alongside his research into the Tarahumara, McDougall delves into why the human species, unique among other primates, has developed traits for endurance running. He promotes the endurance running hypothesis, arguing that humans left the forests and moved to the savannas by developing the ability to run long distances in order to literally run down prey. If you look at humans from a physiological point  of view, we are an upright biped, a body type that would make us very vulnerable to attack on the plains of Africa. There is no physiological advantage that we have that can exploit in order to hunt and be successful, apart from the ability to run long distances. Running, for the Tarahumara is integral to their societal structure and even the way in which they run, in strategic formation in respect to social rank, improves their endurance and their speed, as well as having incalculable benefits on their fitness, mental well-being and social health. The fact that in the Tarahumara society, clinical depression, greed, crime, war, violence, domestic abuse, as well as a host of modern illness such as cancer and heart disease is virtually unheard of. The Tarahumara lives to a ripe old age and is extremely happy in doing so. The greatest race the world has never seen refers to the Copper Canyon Ultra marathon but it could equally refer to the Human Race, and its history of development which is intertwined with running. Running helped make us who we are, and it IS who we are, it is one of the purest expressions of our humanity and deserves its place as so. When it comes to going ultra-distances, nothing could beat the Tarahumara not a racehorse, not a cheetah, not even an Olympic marathoner. Very few outsiders had ever seen the Tarahumara in action, but amazing stories of their superhuman toughness and tranquility have drifted out of the canyons for centuries. One explorer spent 10 hours crossing a mountain by mule while a Tarahumara runner made the same trip in 90 minutes. One reason the Tarahumara squeeze so much mileage out of their feet is because they don’t baby them. The Tarahumara add strength to their stride from childhood by passing a wooden ball with their feet as they race through the woods. Keeping the ball in play means lunging, backpedalling and twisting all movements that later translate into powerful, economical self-propulsion. Your body needs to be shocked to become resilient and for the Tarahumara, that’s just daily life. They step into the unknown every time they leave their caves because they never know how fast they’ll have to  sprint after a rabbit, how much firewood they’ll have to haul home, or how tricky the climbing will be during a winter storm. Before the Tarahumara run long, they get strong. Personally I think the Tarahumara Indians motive people to do their best in running. At least I know they have motivated me to do better in my events in Track and Field. And with this in mind I can see improvement and so have my coaches.

The, Wildlife, And The Natural Land, By Henry David Thoreau

Just years after the Industrial Revolution, a time at which engineering and the economy became the main concerns of the population, many of the American people forgot the importance of the land that provided the resources that sustained them. In a time where there was believed to be nowhere but society to reside in, few refuted the idea that the wilderness was really so uncivilized. In his 1845 memoir, Henry David Thoreau describes his experiences living in a quaint cabin, â€Å"in the wilderness†, alongside Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. Presenting his findings of being self-reliable, Thoreau depicts what his life was like alone in the woods with only nature to ease one’s mind and solitude to provide company. With detailed†¦show more content†¦He accordingly conveys this idea by stating that society only believes in intrinsic value and only once one can seclude themselves from the portrait of society can one come to find instrumental value. Continuing with his descriptions of the Walden Pond during winter, Thoreau presents the idea of overconsumption and sustainability throughout the book. While observing the ice cutters at Walden Pond, Thoreau comments on human effort to exploit nature, arguing that the actions are in vain as nature regenerates much faster than it can be threatened, which is very debatable due to the knowledge that there is only a finite amount of resources on the planet. Thoreau thoroughly believes in his idea of self-reliance and states that there are only four necessities that should determine one’s ability to survive: food, shelter, clothing, and fuel, many of which he believes nature provides graciously. This refutes the idea that prosperity is dependent widescale economic surplus. Thoreau makes his argument clear, writing that any attempt at luxury is likely to prove more as a hinderance that an aid to one’s individual improvement as in Economy when he writes â€Å"Most men, even i n this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are soShow MoreRelatedHenry David Thoreau : Idealism And Existentialism1311 Words   |  6 PagesIdealism and Existentialism consolidate together in Henry David Thoreau’s work, Walking. His ethic is no other than of a man that has come to his full- senses, seeing the world from the most narrow space that society have to offer, he expanded that space and went into a journey that every man should take, a journey of self-discovery and understanding of nature. Thoreau’s Walking solves the question that we all may consider of doing before making an action. 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