POSVERDAD: Más Que Una Mentira

La mayor ironía de la denominada posverdad recae en su propia apelativo, al no tratarse de verdades sino más bien mentiras. Está incluso en el Diccionario de Oxford como la palabra del año, descrita de la siguiente forma: “Relativo o referido a circunstancias en las que los hechos objetivos son menos influyentes en la opinión pública que las emociones y las creencias personales”[1] . No se trata de algo que acaba de surgir recientemente, ha estado presente antaño en multiples ocaciones, pero con distinto nombre: mentira y manipulación.

Imagen sacada de: thenorwichradical.com

A Team, A Family

Because a leader always says “we”, even when he’s saying “I”

Leaders are the first ones to step up against danger, the first ones to head into uncertainty, the first ones to volunteer… but they are also the last ones to take credit, the last one walking with the people. Leading is about sacrificing oneself, so that other people may gain. It is about putting others first. Always.

Darwin in the Competitive Company

Only by ignorance or impertinence would we marvel to hear the extinction of other beings

It is commonly thought that the main purpose of companies is to make profit. Companies are aware that they are not alone in the market, but are instead surrounded by other companies that, with the same objective in mind, want to survive in the war for profitability. This war unleashes a search for exemplary people and economic benefits at all costs, creating in the company what Darwin in his book «The Origin of Species» called natural selection. The employees are the giraffes, and we can differentiate between the low-neck ones (the less competitive ones), and the high-necks (the most competitive ones). Natural selection (the competition) acts on them, causing small-necked giraffes to die, while those with high-necks survive. This would seem the recipe for success: enhancing competition in the company may lead to having only the most capable exemplary people surviving. But if we look at cases from well-known companies that have done this, we see the result is completely different. A company where this happens ends up being in most cases dysfunctional, because competition occupies a prime place and becomes the central axis of the company. How should leaders manage this?

Insatiable Thirst

With the cooperation of Carla Fernandez and Fernando Mendez

Greed, like many things in life, can have a good side and a dark side. It can be a work propeller in the culture and society we live in. Nevertheless, it corrupts our identity. Is the economic benefit worth losing oneself?

In the eye of the beholder

The existence of an absolute truth has been constantly questioned. Some people state that truth is universal; others proclaim that it depends on people’s point of view. But is truth really in the eye of he who sees?

Talk to strangers!

(Don’t) talk to strangers!

To talk: The act of conversing or communicating by spoken words. Not through Whatsapp, Facebook, Imessage, Twitter or any other platform, but the act of expressing oneself through speech in person. Sounds obsolete and outdated right? It is actually one of the most efficient methods to express feelings and thoughts to other people. But is conversing really that important?

The Solar System of Women Equality

From Mars

From the men’s perspective, women have always belonged in the kitchen. Since the early years, men were hunters while women were mothers and took care of the home where they lived. «Masculinity pertains to male dominance as femininity pertains to female subordination,” [1] says the writer Jeffreys. Being a mother is a job that requires a lot of effort so there is little time left for work. And it has been like that for a long time, so why change it now?

Oh Holy Freedom!

It’s Christmas, and everyone is talking about «The Interview». When we heard the word «interview», this is what came to mind:

But it has soon changed to a more audacious meaning: a movie banned from american theatres because of hacker’s demands.

Hackers: 1 – SONY: 0

It seems absurd the idea of a giant like SONY being blackmailed by mere hackers, but maybe those «Guardians of Peace» are a bigger threat than what we think.

The hackers did what they do best, and by the end of November they had gathered an big amount of private information and important data regarding the SONY corporation and employees. On the night of December 16th the hackers, addressing themselves as «Guardians of Peace», wrote a letter to top SONY executives threatening to harm moviegoers if «The Interview» was released, besides leaking private information. The following day, SONY wrote a statement calling off the release of the film until further notice. The effect of cancelling the film was stunning: US citizens felt outraged and demanded justice. It was their pride that was harmed, but it was enough for the FBI to take action and for President Obama to assure a «proportional response» to those threats.

So who are the americans blaming? North Korea. I know what you might be thinking: «미쳤어?! Michyeosseo?!» But according to the FBI, North Korea was centrally involved in the cyber attack of the SONY computers. And it is not surprising, for the movie is based on two men who are asked by the CIA and the USA government to take out Kim Jong-Un while interviewing him. It is no doubt a comedy film, but it ridicules the image of the North Korean leader and the country itself. Is this Kim Jong-Un’s idea of payback?

“We cannot have a society in which some dictator some place can start imposing censorship here in the United States. Because if somebody is able to intimidate folks out of releasing a movie, imagine what they start doing when they see a documentary that they don’t like or news reports that they don’t like. Or even worse, imagine if producers and distributors start engaging in self-censorship because they don’t want to offend somebody’s sensibilities who probably need to be offended.” said President Obama Friday 19th of December, two days after SONY announced to cancel the release of the film in theatres.

The SONY who cried wolf

What if everything that has happened regarding «The Interview» and North Korea has been a marketing strategy? At least this is what many people think, for it has only brought publicity. After all, everyone is talking about it. Good publicity, bad publicity… it does not matter as long as it is in everyone’s mouths. What is surprising is that «The Interview» arrived in selected theatres despite it all, and right before Christmas! Also on December 24th, SONY announced the online release of «The Interview» available for rent or to buy on Google Play, Xbox, Youtube and their own website: seetheinterview.com.

As the movie streams online, the movie shoots to No.1 on Google Play in its release day. American citizens tweet and blog about their free will to watch the movie despite everything that has happened. Some of the comments and tweets were:

«I wouldn’t have had the slightest interest in seeing The Interview. Now I wouldn’t miss it for anything.» – Henry Blodget

«Freedom of speech has prevailed!» – Seth Rogen

«This movie will be awful, but it’s my choice to watch awful«

So whether SONY’s acts were brave or coward, «The Interview» has now a whole different meaning. A satire film that makes fun of a nation’s leader? A bold act of freedom of speech? A new world of possibilities opened up before us. Now the question is… what’s next?

Un Mundo Gris

Reseña del libro "The Giver" de Lois Lowry

En un mundo sin colores, sin olores ni sonidos, sin elecciones ni sentimientos, ¿existen el bienestar y la felicidad? Lois Lowry nos describe una sociedad que parece ser el casi perfecto modelo de una sociedad comunista en The Giver («El Dador«), donde todos en la comunidad trabajan juntos para el bien común y reciben la igual cantidad de beneficios de vivir en la comunidad.

La historia es narrada desde el punto de vista de Jonas, un niño de 11 años que vive en una sociedad donde se cumplen las reglas sin cuestionarlas y donde todo tiene un aire de «igualdad». Está a punto de ser asignado su trabajo en la comunidad, y es mediante su inseguridad que el lector se da cuenta del mundo en el que vive. Tiene una madre, un padre y una hermana menor, pero no comparte relación genética con ninguno de ellos. En esta sociedad, las familias son creadas por ciertas personas seleccionadas según lo indique el gobierno. Las personas tienen un cambio de ropa, un par de zapatos, una bicicleta como medio de transporte, y un único artículo personal, para evitar la incomodidad de «tener que elegir». Este mundo que ha creado Lowry es un mundo sin sentimientos ni colores, donde el uso adecuado del vocabulario y de la lengua es imperativo. La sociedad está estructurada de tal forma que nadie padezca ningún dolor ni sufrimiento y nadie elegirá de forma equivocada, ya que el gobierno se encarga de elegir todo por las personas, asegurándose la elección correcta, al mismo tiempo que erradica cualquier tipo de sentimiento de dolor o miedo. El precio a pagar: la libertad y la alegría.

En la historia, el protagonista le es asignado el trabajo más respetado de la sociedad: el de recibidor. Todas las personas le miran con inmenso respeto, mientras saben que se sacrificará por el bien común. ¿Qué tipo de sacrificio? El trabajo del recibidor consiste en (como su nombre indica) recibir recuerdos y memorias de la vida antes de la «igualdad» que le entrega el dador. Recuerdos alegres como el color rojo de un trineo en la nieve, el calor del sol al medio día, el azul del agua del mar… pero con estos hermosos recuerdos, vienen ligados memorias de guerras, muerte, hambre, heridas… Y el recibidor siente el calor del sol como si estuviese bajo tal, mientras que siente el dolor de una herida de guerra como si le hubiesen disparado de verdad. El verdadero papel del recibidor consiste en retener todos esos recuerdos para que la sociedad viva sin ellos, y por lo tanto viva sumisa por el gobierno y en paz.

Lo primero que impacta al lector son las raras normas de la sociedad en la que viven, sobre todo la relacionada a la comunicación. El diálogo forma un papel fundamental, ya que las personas están obligadas a siempre decir la verdad y a hablar entre sí. Todos los días Jonas debe dialogar con su familia sobre qué ha soñado durante la noche y qué le ha sucedido durante el día. Además, debe usar las palabras adecuadas y exactas según lo indique la situación. Por ejemplo, en un capítulo Jonas es reñido por sus padres cuando les pregunta si le aman, tras haber visto el recuerdo de una navidad en familia, y ellos se ríen y le responden diciendo «la palabra amor es tan general que carece se significado. Te disfrutamos y estamos orgullosos de ti, pero no te amamos». Con esto podemos decir que las palabras o el lenguaje son herramientas muy útiles para describir el mundo, pero no tienen sentido si no transmiten sentimientos.

La crueldad de una sociedad monótona es un tema crucial en la historia. Es una sociedad donde el gobierno es autoritario y a las personas se les ha quitado el derecho a la libertad de elección. Ha llegado a tal punto de monotonía que los colores dejaron de existir, los sonidos son monótonos y las figuras son planas e iguales. Las normas son lo primordial en el día a día y aportan orden y harmonía en la sociedad. Incluso la pubertad es controlada mediante medicamentos que impiden los deseos biológicos naturales de reproducción humana. El gobierno se encarga incluso de elegir el momento de «partida» de cada persona de la sociedad. Cuando una persona deja de ser útil para el bien común, ya sea porque nace con malformaciones o porque la vejez se lo impide, el gobierno les hace el favor de «dejarles ir». La crueldad llega a tal punto que el lector se pregunta, ¿cual es el propósito de las personas en esta sociedad? ¿A qué aspiran? Por la confianza de los habitantes puedo decir que aspiran a paz, a tranquilidad y a un orden otorgado por el gobierno y en su capacidad de decidir de forma correcta.

Resulta interesante como cambia Jonas a medida que conoce los horrores de la sociedad en la que vive. El lector de momentos olvida que se trata de un niño de tan solo 11 años, que no sabe mucho de la vida y se le encarga la difícil tarea de lidiar con años de historia y sentimientos. Previamente a que supiese que es un «recibidor», Jonas vivía su vida como cualquier otro integrante de la sociedad. Sin embargo después de los recuerdos que obtiene, despierta en su alma un ansia de sabiduría, de conocimientos que no le son otorgados en ese sitio. El momento más impactante en mi opinión es cuando el dador le enseña el recuerdo de una navidad con abuelos, padres e hijos en familia, y Jonas le pide al dador que sea su abuelo para quererle como se querían en la familia del recuerdo, y desea que sus padres le amasen como se aman en esa memoria. Es a partir de ese momento cuando Jonas se da cuenta de lo aislado que se encuentra en sus propios deseos y pensamientos. Es cuando empieza por primera vez a cuestionar las normas de la sociedad en la que vive. Es cuando decide, a pesar del pavor que provoca, cambiar las cosas.

The giver es un libro que te plantea un mundo donde todo lo que nos hace humanos desaparece, y esto obliga al lector a darse cuenta de lo afortunados que somos al vivir con libertad.

The blurred spanish dream

How corruption affects a country

Success is the main goal for every ambitious young man, but sometimes people tend to confuse success with power. What is the cost of economic and political power? A dark fog called corruption is blurring the Spanish dream.

Key word: corruption

Corruption is the abuse of power and / or the improper conduct of a person or institution for personal gain. In this context, political corruption is linked to the abuse of power by the public office for personal benefit. It always has consequences that affect more or less the society in general.

Political corruption is an attitude and a behavior that is not accepted by the norms and cultural patterns of a given society. When a person is politically corrupt, this person violates commitments because it missuses privileges that have been granted by the people with the mere purpose of obtaining a benefit foreign to the common good. Overall, corruption refers to rulers and / or elected officials that leverage state resources to directly or indirectly enrich and benefit themselves.

In Spain

Corruption for Spaniards is the second highest concern after unemployment. “A lack of separation between the political class and the public administration is something we inherited from the Franco regime,” said Victor Lapuente. According to this, the main problem in Spain comes from the political regime. Despite the fact that we are in a sort of democratic state, we are lacking the basic principles of political democracy: the separations of powers and true representatives. Perhaps the solution to this problem implies a new constituent assembly. But maybe the problem resides in the mentality of the Spanish people.

With the economic crisis, the number of debates concerning corruption has dramatically increased: the media starts exposing politicians, companies and royal family members; everyone is unsatisfied with the way things are and with the way the government is managing the country. «What the economic crisis has done is allow more public debate about corruption … It is being exposed more and that affects perceptions. In Spain every sector – politics, the royal family and companies – was implicated in graft at a time when the country is really suffering,» said Anne Koch, TI’s director for Europe and Central Asia. The final result is that people got tired of their politicians.

According to Transparency International’s 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Spain dropped 10 places to 40 out of 177 in the corruption rankings. This shows the Spaniards’ unsatisfaction towards the system that promised to protect them. Prior to these ratings, many big scandals came to light: Iñaki Urdangarin, the king’s son-in-law, was charged for the inappropriate use of public funds; Luis Bárcenas, former treasurer of the Popular Party, was also part of a corruption case; Rodrigo Rato, former finance minister, also abused his power for personal benefit. Even president Rajoy had to apologize in the name of his political party for all the cases of corruption saying, » I apologize in the PP’s name to all Spaniards» in a speech he gave on October 28th.

As a consequence

All governments are susceptible to corruption, because they seek political power. In the fourth century BC, Plato in his dialogues and the Republic refer to the decline of Athens due to corrupt governments, and in his description of the «Ideal City» Plato says, «because the city is subject to corruption, the system will not endure forever but rather it will be destroyed». Corruption in a government can be harmful for the entire country.

The consequences of corruption are several from the social point of view:

1. Individual and collective degradation in relation to the values and cultural patterns.

2. Promoting a negative culture based on fraud, deceit, embezzlement, breach of trust and despotism.

3. Creating a favorable scenario for crimes such as drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, which together lead to the institutionalization of organized crime.

These consequences increase the lack of confidence of citizens in their government and their perception of injustice.

From the economic point of view an economic degradation of society takes place, accentuating inequalities between different groups producing a lack of competitiveness (cost of works is artificially increased).

Measures to be taken

1. Measures should be focused on education. It must be recognized that lying is a crime and embezzlement of public funds must have the highest moral and criminal penalty.

2. Enhance the power of citizens in the sense of creating and strengthening participatory instruments that determine the greatest possible transparency in the use of public funds. Good communication between the people and the government is critical to ensure the transparency of such.

3. Exercise the vote to elect rulers giving priority to the effective transparency.

4. Strengthen the resources of agencies of the Judiciary.

To conclude, corruption is big concern in Spain nowadays. Spaniards have stopped trusting their politicians and rulers. With an effective transparency, Spain could change for good to a united country where governors and citizens trust each other.