General failures

In Judaism, the term messiah refers to a godlike figure that will appear deus ex machina and restore human affairs to its mythical orderly paradise. In politics, this individual is called “the general”. Specifically, the public wishes to believe that this seemingly uncorrupted and clearly patriotic personality, who seemingly has mastered the art of running a huge military machine, will seamlessly apply his skill and fix the mess of civilian politics. Where ever and whenever, this faith has always been disappointed.

In the United States, elected generals have shown themselves to be rather poor presidents. Andrew Jackson and Zachery Taylor were romantic but did more harm than good while Ulysses Grant was clearly over his head in trying to run the country. George Washington is highly rated not only because there was no president before him but also because there was no established political structure to manage and he was surrounded by political geniuses, many of which become president after him. Dwight D. Eisenhower is also respected but this is mainly because he did what the public wanted him to do, nothing, which is relatively easy to carry out.

Europe does not have a better track record. Napoleon was genius in terms of military skill but very mediocre in terms of administration. He left France in very poor condition and did not improve the lives of its regular citizens in any substantial manner. In modern times, Francisco Franco in Spain and Antonio Salazar in Portugal suffocated their countries economically, socially and optically for decades.  Charles de Gaulle was effective in extracting France from an ineffective fourth republic and a civil war due to its policies in Algeria but created a new system that is so open to corruption that it resembles the mythical Stygian stables. In other words, he did not fundamentally improve the political situation of the French.

In the Middle East, Israel is a country with a bit of a Spartan tradition and has always been enamored of generals. The list of chiefs of staff and top generals that have entered politics after a successful career in the Army is extensive but their glory rolls are sparse. The best that can be said is that Moshe Dayan, Igal Yadin, Ariel Sharon and Yizhak Rabin had their moments but their learning curve was no less steep than their civilian counterparts. Benny Gantz is the latest to jump into the ring of Israeli politics but the past is against him.  Egypt, Israel’s neighbor, has twice been ruled by military councils with dominant figures, Gamal Nassar in the 1960’s and 1970’s and Abdel el-Sisi currently.  Whatever foreign policies success they may have achieved, the average Egyptian has not benefited economically to any significant degree.

Many military heads are not better than one.  Juntas, whether in Europe as in Greece in the 1960’s and 1970’s or in South American as in Argentina in the 1970’s to the 1980’s, only leave their country even more poor.

In the 17^th century, Oliver Cromwell aimed to create a government of godly man to rule English but failed. The public continues to share his faith and seeks divine, military guidance, generally to little avail. The sad truth is most generals are political failures.

Game theory

There are many ways to get to know people, some more effective than others. For example, the “real” romance success rate after “virtual” Facebook friendship does not give much grounds for optimism (nor do many other dating techniques, to be honest). Going on one week camping trip together definitely will expand your knowledge of that person but that involves much dirt and time. A method with more limited goals but involving less time and more success is to play a game together, one that takes a few hours. It ideally should require interaction and communication so you can get a take on that person.

A few examples are in order. Many years ago, after I just immigrated to Israel, I met a fellow American, my age, who had also just arrived. A group of us Yankees, around five males, played a game of Risk, the board game. This was clearly before online and video games had taken over. The version we played was slightly different than the one I was familiar in that each player was given a card that stated his specific condition for winning.  This was not “to take over the world’ to quote “the Brain” of Pinky fame. It involved controlling certain continents. While the rest of us were busy yacking and attacking randomly, this person quietly and effectively conquered South and North America and shockingly declared that he had won. What I learned on that day was how intelligent and methodical he was and still is.  It should be no surprise that he is a statistician.

Computer games, especially roleplaying ones, generally begin with a simple but illuminating request: name the character. In my opinion, the answer reveals many aspects of the player. There are those that enter their own name; those that enter a nickname; and those that enter a random name with no connection to themselves. Quite often, the first category groups people that enjoy attention to themselves and see themselves as the center of their own world. They are their own heroes in the imaginary and real world. The second group is a bit more schizophrenic in that it likes both the attention of being the hero and the possibility of being someone else. The third group, where I belong, attracts the outsiders, those that sit at the edge of the campfire and are a bit embarrassed at their own birthdays. These people pick and choose their direct involvement depending on mood and interest. Sometimes, it is nice to be the center but not too often.

Finally, the “restart” button creates a terrible temptation for those who are weak emotionally. It allows the possibility of starting again when a game suddenly goes very wrong instead of working through the issues. The emotionally strong keep on playing and accept the challenge of fighting back (sometimes literally). The overly sensitive forget that “the sun will come out tomorrow” and only see the current disaster before them.  In real life, for better or worse, there is no “restart’ button. The strength to confront and overcome problems is one of the keys to success, especially in managerial positions and relationships. That so many people are emotional cowards does not mean makes their life easier.

As play is key learning tool for learning motoric skills, it also illuminates social skills and attitudes. Beyond the reaction to winning and losing, which strongly vary from person to person, the manner in which people play brings out hidden but important aspects of their personality. These should be known before you go on a week-long vacation together. That is my theory any way.

Beyond words

There is a perception that translation and interpretation are matters of word knowledge, i.e., the person must have a rich vocabulary. While that is true, what is no less required is the understanding of context. Regardless of how many meanings of a word translators may know, unless they identify and apply the correct context, their work is poor.

This message was reinforced by the lectures given at the Lecture Day organized by the Israel Translators Association this week in Kfar Hamaccabiah in Tel Aviv. The lecturers, including myself, discussed a wide variety of issues but all emphasized the importance of grasping the context and applying it to the word choice. (https://ita.org.il/?page_id=2718&lang=en)

For example, the opening speaker, Dr. Gabriel Birnbaum, recounted the history of the Language Academy’s Historical Dictionary and noted that the first some 30 years were dedicated solely to collecting and entering source material so that all of the uses of a word could be defined.  Not only that, this collection process is still continuing and now involves more recent material from the 19^th and 20^th century.

Likewise, Ms. Shira Schmidt raised the difficult question of how to translate words linked to a very specific culture such that anybody could understand it. The context was the subtitles to a movie on an ultraorthodox marriage that mentioned words such as rogolach, tchulent and muselman. A non-Jew would have no idea what they meant.  She stressed that the main consideration is the depth of understanding that is required to understand the film. In other words, you can fudge the meaning if it really makes no difference and use a general term even if it is not specific enough.

Ms. Yael Valier, an experienced translator of children’s books from Hebrew to English, brought into the focus the requirement to ask questions about the targeted market before beginning the translation.  Specifically, the person has to know whether the publishers wants a modern style a book, a “vintage” look or an activity book, to name a few types. Regardless of how good the translation, if it does not match the purpose, it will not be accepted.

On the same theme, Ms. Tzviya Macleod broke down the US children’s book market and strongly emphasized that it is formally segmented with strict requirements, unlike the Israeli one. Thus, books that rhyme and those that fail to meet word count and style requirements have almost no chance of being accepted.

The last lecturer was Mr. Dory Manor, who “ruminated” on translating poetry. With a wealth of experience in the field, he illustrated how subjective the term “good translation” is in regards to poems and more importantly, how subjective the readers’ knowledge of symbols and precedents is. Thus, with great trepidation, in some cases he would substitute Jewish symbols for Christian and even Greek mythological ones to allow his reader to understand the meaning of the poem. When in Rome, translate for the Romans, as they say.

If in physics, as Einstein said, all is relative, so it is translation. The choice of words is strongly related to the context of the phrase, raising the profession from a science to an art. Like any writer, the translator or interpreter must go beyond words. 

Modern indentured servants

One of the ways that many reached the New World was through a labor contract, a rather draconian one at that, in which people contracted their labor for a period of years in return for room, board and clothing and eventual free status. In practice, it was legal but temporary slavery.

Of course, those days are long gone or maybe not. In fact, those conditions have become more common and less temporary. I am referring to people that work multiple jobs merely to pay rent and put food on the table. In practice, the only time they have to “pursue happiness” as stated in the American Declaration of Independence is during their few hours of sleep. I am not referring to young people just starting their adult life or those middle aged trying to pay for their children’s private school. I am talking about people in the 30’s and 40’s who do not have the “luxury” of resting.

Many years ago, I visited a friend and her family in Mexico, a middle-class family. What struck me the most was how hard they worked. Both parents had management jobs but they also cooked soup and sold it to workers, all to make ends meet. The exact opposite from the stereotype of lazy Mexicans, this family, like many of their countrymen, worked endlessly to provide their family with moderate means.

On my just completed trip to LA, I had a conversation with the weekend clerk at the hotel where I usually stay. Discussing the high local prices, some $20 USD for a full breakfast, he mentioned that he also sold in eBay and worked as a Lyft driver, similar to Uber. He stated that without all these income sources, he simply could not afford to live in LA.  The man was in his 30’s.

In Israel, the shocking fact, according to the newspaper the Marker, is the 80% of all Israelis are in overdraft.  Granted, some are young and trying to get by on minimum wage while others are trying to live beyond their means. Yet, a great number are simply trying to end the month properly and are failing on a regular basis.

Further exasperating this trend is the fact that more and more tasks are being subcontracted to personnel agencies. This means that these workers earn less money but also lack sick leave, pension, medical benefits and job security.  This vulnerable situation adds stress but prevents these hard-working people from handling that stress.

According to the Bible, Jacob worked a slave for 14 years for Laban but eventually got Rachel (and Leah). It was painful but temporary and fruitful (in the Biblical sense). Modern indentured servants have neither the knowledge when their ordeal will end or the assurance it will end. The solution to the problem may be complex but its existence is undeniable no matter how much this situation is hidden in the economic statistics. More important, slavery, however framed, is morally wrong and should be eliminated. To highjack the expression, do not wish on others what you would not wish on yourself.