Trump and the role of executive versus ceremonial rulers

During the last US presidential elections several pundits expressed concerns over whether Trump represented a returning trend towards the populist and authoritarian politicians that took over Europe and Latin America for several decades. Honestly, I do not believe such reasons for alarm, since the US has constitutional checks and balances in the Senate and Congress that should counteract a President that goes too far in his agenda.

However, for me the greatest surprise of the election was that some of the promises of Trump are so unrealistic that they sound a bit like the projects of ancient Roman emperors or Chinese rulers. After all, it must be in the mind of many that the proposed Mexican wall would be many times bigger than Hadrian’s Wall and quite comparable in size to the Chinese wall.

The fact that so many candidates in different countries decide to go for the election of head of state for reasons of fame and prestige with vague slogans like “make the country great again” makes me think that there are some advantages to countries in which the maximum head of state plays a mere ceremonial role. The reason is that the head of state is required to be a part of many ceremonies, such as receiving other heads of state, which can distract him from the harder tasks of ruling. Therefore some countries elect a head of state which has mostly a ceremonial function, while keeping some core powers that can be used to balance abuses from others (such as being able to dismiss a dysfunctional government and calling for new elections). The President gets to keep fame and the right to major speeches during all the important holidays, while the real decision power and unpleasant details such as negotiating a parliamentary majority are left to a prime minister or head of government.

A good thing about this is that candidates that are passionate about fame, but bored by the actual negotiations of real politics run for the Presidential election and get the right to do their harmless speech a few times a year. Politicians who actually have a project for the country will run for Prime Minister and get a less prestigious role, but a much more relevant one and with all the onerous tasks of negotiations and administration. This could be seen as Political Economy case of a separating equilibrium – offer two different contracts to politicians and each candidate will choose the role that suits them best. If America had such a system, then they could have fame-seeking Trump as President and Hillary as Prime Minister.

Curiously, the Western Roman Empire had learned this before their demise in the 5th century. After Theodosius, his descendants became prestigious Emperors with a glory similar to the Pope. However, the real source of power lay with the magister militum, which was a professional general in charge of the army plus negotiating taxation, administration and budgets.

Halloween: My favorite word in Portuguese means Sorrow

One word for the day of the lost, the departed, the abandoned and the grieving.

All languages are special but the saying goes that one’s feelings are always stronger in one’s native language. Language theory says that different cultures add more words to their vocabulary according to the objects and feelings that are more frequently used by the people. As one word becomes too much in use, its meaning is deemed to be too general and people create more specific words to denote more precise meanings and create a more complete communication. Say, for example the word computer originated in the English/American culture which created such objects first, but, as the term became too widespread, new words appeared to differentiate objects with different usages: computers became desktops, laptops, playstations, notebooks, readers, smartphones and smartwatches. Words are also "borrowed" from other cultures with whom we have trade (for example, "boutique" or "rouge" are borrowed from French). Some words come into disuse and disappear or "die" from the vocabulary, remaining perhaps only as archaisms, left to poems, novels, dictionaries and museums.

Well, the same principle applies for the feelings or immaterial ideas that each culture expresses. Cultures where people more often feel nostalgia, happiness, gloom or indecision will create more words to denote more specific emotions. If a culture stops expressing certain emotions or discusses them less often, then the words for such emotions will disappear from daily use.

In Portuguese my favorite word is “mágoa”, which could be translated as “sorrow” or "burden". Portuguese use “mágoa” to denote a feeling of sadness and grief that is often not so extreme (unlike depression or suicidal thoughts), but it is felt permanently and lingers with you for a long time, often for one’s entire life. The loss of a loved one or a bitter painful disappointment early one's life and yet never entirely forgotten could be said to be "mágoa" or a deep wound inside one's heart. "Mágoa" is a feeling of discordant emotions, an inner conflict, it can both be sad and beautiful, as something forever lost and yet even with its pain you wished it here always with you. The word can also be used in a less common way as "resentment" or "feeling deception".

“Mágoa” comes from the Latin “macula” which means “stain” or "flaw" (do not confuse macula with dracula, dracul and vampire lore). However, popular tales also say that the word “mágoa” originates from the combination of the Portuguese words for bad water (“má agua”) and what is bitterer than drinking the devil’s water? That is why I both love the meaning, feeling and sound of this word. What could be more tragically beautiful than a feeling so acutely yours that it lingers a lifetime, it penetrates deeply as an unwashable stain,  it bleeds like a wound that never fully scarred, and yet it sounds just like water, the most precious thing of all? "Mágoa" denotes lasting sorrow and yet it resonates as beautiful as water, a symbol of life and hope. The British poet Auden in prison once remarked "Thousands have lived without love, not one without water." I believe many live despite their "mágoas". Some scholars believe that the deep origin of the words "mágoa" and "mácula" comes from the Proto-Italic (smatlo) or from the Proto-Indo-European (smhatlo) and Ancient Greek (σμάω, smáō), which means "wiping, cleansing". Therefore all these burdens and "mágoas" cleanse us from the grief and deceptions we all lived through.

All Latin languages have one or two words from the root “macula” and yet Portuguese has seven! Therefore one could say Portuguese feel seven times the sorrows of other western Europeans. In several countries, however, the word descendants of "macula" do not mean sorrow at all, like in Portuguese. In Spanish and English "macula" means the iris or the oval stain of ink inside the eye. In Portuguese "mácula", besides the anatomical meaning, is most commonly applied to mean sin. See why I absolutely love such a word? If the eyes are the doors to the soul, then they must also be the mirror of our sorrows and sins.

One can see the descendants of the Latin root “macula” in nearly any Romance language and even some other European languages: Asturian (mancha), Catalan (malla, macula), Czech (machule), English (macula, mail, macle, mackle, macule, macchia, maquis), French (maille, macule), Friulian (magle), Galician (mágoa, mancha), Italian (macchia, macula), Occitan (malha), Sicilian (macchia), Slovak (machuľa), Spanish (mancha, macula, mangla), and Venetian (macia).

The Portuguese have seven different kinds of stains either to express abstract feelings or real stains such as those caused by blood or ink: mancha, malha, mágoa, mácula, macla, mangra, maquis. Both Portuguese and English had a tradition of navy and sailing from its medieval and renaissance times. Perhaps their vocabularies drew on words heard in ports all over Europe. Travel opens the windows to the eyes, the ears and the heart! It is interesting to note that several of the Portuguese and English words derived from "macula" had its origin in medieval French and yet those words came into disuse in its original French culture.

What do you think readers? The famous singer, Amália Rodrigues, once sang that Fado was born from the bosom of a sailor on whose lips died a sorrowful song full of wasted desires and nostalgia. Amália also had the feeling that Portuguese women felt burdened with sorrows, seeing their husbands and children leave on sea trips or immigrate to distant countries. Fado may have been at first born in ports and sang by sailor men, but it eventually bloomed in the voices of sorrowful women, with hair and dress as black as ravens, that sang despairingly their heartfelt emotions of abandonment and loneliness. I leave you now to listen to Amália, whose voice means so much more than its words:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YriVM8sC7M

Evoking a love memory from the Iliad while listening to Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey often makes reference that she studied philosophy and considered becoming a poet, which is something that reflects on her lyrics from the very first albums. Her song “Off to the races” quotes a cute line from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita, “Light of my life, fire of my loins”. Another song “Body Electric” is an obvious allusion to the Walt Whitman’s poem.

However, for me the most special poetic moment is how Lana evokes a bit of Homer in her song “Videogames”. I say evoke instead of quote, since I do not think there is any intention of quoting the Greek bard. Rather, I would say it is my interpretation and emotional feeling of those lines that reminds me of a similar theme in the Iliad. Obviously, Lana has already stated that Videogames is a happy song about living with a boyfriend that was focused on games.

In my favorite line Lana sings “They say that the world was built for two, Only worth living if somebody is loving you”. This line evokes in me a scene when Achilles watches Patroclus leave for battle. Achilles reminds his friend not to put himself in danger for he values him above all else: “Once you push the Trojans from the ships, come back. (…) Make sure you come back here again, once your saving light has reached our ships. Let others keep on fighting”. Achilles then prays that rather everyone else would die if only he and Patroclus would live: “Oh, Father Zeus, Athena, and Apollo— if only no single Trojan or Achaean could escape death, and just we two alone were not destroyed, so that by ourselves we could take Troy's sacred battlements.”

While the words used to express this feeling are way different from Lana’s, I would say both reflect a relationship that is felt so strongly that it overcomes everything else! In “Videogames” the line is just a metaphor for the desire to be special and loved in a way that the world feels warmer just for you. In the Iliad – which curiously refers to War Games – Achilles expresses to Patroclus that their bond is stronger than their ties to other men and without him he cares little for this world. That is why later on the death of Patroclus seals Achilles fate, for he knows that joining the war again will lead him to an early death. The death of Patroclus is Achilles’ death sentence because it deprived him of the joy of life. Later when Achilles is weeping over his friend’s dead body, he confesses his friend was dearer to him than his own father and he rather hoped for his own death than his friend’s loss: “But now thou liest here mangled, and my heart will have naught of meat and drink, though they be here at hand, through yearning for thee. Naught more grievous than this could I suffer, not though I should hear of the death of mine own father (…) For until now the heart in my breast had hope that I alone should perish far from horse-pasturing Argos, here in the land of Troy, but that thou shouldest return to Phthia, that so thou mightest take my child in thy swift, black ship from Scyrus, and show him all things”.

Recently, a friend quoted on Facebook the famous line by Star Trek’s character Spock “The Needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”. I immediately replied “Not so. Sometimes one can love one thing or one person so strongly that the whole world matters less. In the Iliad Achilles says that he would rather wish all the Greeks died if only Patroclus would live. That is how much he loved him!” And now I ask you my friends/readers, who do you resemble the most – Spock or Achilles? Lana Del Rey sounds like an Achilles type of person.

The photo above shows Achilles mourning the dead Patroclus”, a scene from the front panel of a Roman sarcophagus that is currently at the museum of Berlin.

THE COURAGE TO ACT: A MEMOIR OF A CRISIS AND ITS AFTERMATH

Comentario al libro

“THE COURAGE TO ACT: A MEMOIR OF A CRISIS AND ITS AFTERMATH”

de Ben S. Bernanke

"Desafiamos los augurios. Hay providencia especial en la caída de un gorrión. Si ha de ser ahora, no será más tarde; si no ha de ser más tarde, será ahora; si no ha de ser ahora, ocurrirá de todos modos. Lo principal es estar preparado." – (Hamlet, William Shakespeare)

The Courage to Act es el relato autobiográfico de Ben Bernanke y de su rol como presidente de la Reserva Federal de Estados Unidos durante la Gran Recesión (2008-09), la crisis económica más profunda sufrida por ese país desde la Gran Depresión (1929-33). Aunque las crisis financieras son impredecibles, estas suceden tarde o temprano. Bernanke confiesa que fue totalmente sorprendido por la crisis e incluso en 2006 no vislumbró el caos que se aproximaba. Sin embargo, Bernanke estaba singularmente preparado para responder al colapso económico de 2008, dadas sus reflexiones sobre la Gran Depresión de 1929 y las crisis más recientes de Japón y Suecia.

Este es el inicio de mi artículo acerca de la autobiografía de Ben Bernanke. ¿Quién diría que la economía puede ser tan dramática e poética como Hamlet? Pueden leer el texto completo en este link:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307561053_THE_COURAGE_TO_ACT_A_MEMOIR_OF_A_CRISIS_AND_ITS_AFTERMATH 

O en este link:

http://www.bcentral.cl/es/faces/bcentral/publicaciones/fichapublicacion?id=BCCH_PUBLICACI_167539_ES&_afrLoop=456179401436777&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=1alm0xeaal_1#!%40%40%3F_afrWindowId%3D1alm0xeaal_1%26_afrLoop%3D456179401436777%26id%3DBCCH_PUBLICACI_167539_ES%26_afrWindowMode%3D0%26_adf.ctrl-state%3D1alm0xeaal_161

The first ecological writings appear in the Iliad

Recently I was saddened by the news of a horse who dropped dead from exhaustion in Chile. Yet those news of a horse reaching the end of his strength reminded me of a beautiful story in the Iliad of a pair of noble horses who at the limit of their effort cried abundant tears. Although I am not an ancient scholar, I would say this is the oldest text I know of in defense of animal feelings.

In Iliad’s book 17 Homer sings how the two immortal horses of Achilles cried for the death of Patroclus, his corpse covered in dust and blood. The horses detained their race and looked down upon their fallen master, so young and beautiful. Just a few moments before he was full of life and the two animals remembered his fond caresses and love tenderly. Automedon, companion of Patroclus and the rider of the horse carriage, tries to push the exhausted animals, mixing pleas and lashes. Yet the horses do not move, unable to raise their eyes from the sad body of their beautiful young master lain on the ground, immobile just as equine statues over a tomb. They cry ardent tears from their black eyes, disconsolately shaking their long manes. Zeus from his heavenly throne looks upon the suffering animals “Unhappy pair, why did we give you, ageless and immortal, to that mortal king, Peleus? Did we mean you to sorrow with these wretched men? For what is there more miserable than man, among all the things that move and breathe on earth?” The 20^th century poet Cavafy in his short poem “The horses of Achilles” follows Homer’s poem almost line by line and yet he adds a surprising twist! For those horses were far more sensitive and human than the great Zeus imagined – they cried not just for the gentle Patroclus, but also for all the endless deaths of war:

http://www.cavafy.com/poems/content.asp?id=134&cat=1

At that instant Homer relates the two animals recovered strength, shook the dust from their dark fur and took Automedon far from the murderous battle, so that at least one of their masters survived the horror. To me this is one of the most moving scenes of European literature and one that shows that Homer, even without a sophisticated literary technique, was able to depict beautiful images in its war epic. I do not feel it was a mere coincidence that the epic poet dedicated some of his most beautiful phrases to two horses, for he wanted to show how heartfelt and noble the feelings in animals were. Some of the great kings and royal kin in the Iliad fail to show such depth of emotion.

However, Homer did not just write about the nobility of animals and went on to do something even more original by scripting the first environmental defense! On book 21 of the Iliad, the warrior Achilles wishes to avenge his friend Patroclus and kills all the enemies he can, throwing their corpses to the river Xanthus. The river Xanthus stinks with the pestilence of rotten bodies and its waters run full of blood and flesh. The great river god asks Achilles to stop contaminating its waters, formerly clean and crystalline. Achilles replies that he will throw whatever he wants wherever he so chooses! The great river god then raises himself, pounding with turbulent waters and tides upon Achilles who begins to drown. Achilles is only saved thanks to the help of the god Vulcan who burns the river with fire.

These are two beautiful and entirely original scenes in Homer, ones of which we do not find of a similar kind in all of Greek mythology. This leads me to believe that doubtless Homer was an animal rights and environmental activist, the first one in history! The images show the horses of Achilles mourning for Patroclus, Automedon attempting to control the horses, and Achilles drowning in the river Xanthus. A friend of mine also reminded me that the great philosopher Nietzche suffered an emotional collapse after witnessing a horse being flogged, the first event of a prolonged sickness that led to his death.

Challenges of being a Mom and Dad: Roman Emperor Augustus and Empress Irene

Mother’s month is gone and Dad’s month as well. That made me think that being a parent is always a challenge, even among the most powerful. Ironically, while many men and women have sought power in order to create their dynasties, history does not lack examples of successful men who failed at being good parents. There are the obvious cases of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great who did not live long enough to provide for the safety of their children, while emperors Trajan and Hadrian did not leave descendants. Revered emperors such as Marcus Aurelius and Septimius Severus were followed by their reviled offspring, Commodus and Caracalla.

Yet perhaps most surprising of all is that Augustus, first Roman Emperor and perhaps the most powerful man in European history, was also a failed parent. Augustus only biological child was his daughter Julia. Being forced into an unhappy marriage with Augustus’ stepson Tiberius, she was found later to be guilty of adultery and treason, being accused of plotting with her lovers against her husband’s own life. Among ancient writers Julia is almost universally remembered for her flagrant and promiscuous conduct and even prostitution behavior, although some of the worst tales are likely to be exaggerations of her actions. Her father Augustus loved her deeply, admired her wit and indulged her, hesitating for some time to accuse her. Reluctant to execute her, Augustus decided on Julia's exile, in harsh conditions. She was confined on the small island of Pandateria, with no men in sight, forbidden even to drink wine and only allowed the visitors approved by her father. Suetonius reports that Augustus would remark "If only I had never married, or had died childless". Historian Macrobius, however, writes that Julia was loved by the roman people due to her gentleness and generosity. Unfortunately, perhaps due to male sexism, the sex scandals give a reputation as negative to historical characters as the murderous behavior of power hungry men.

Perhaps even more surprising is the case of byzantine Empress Irene, the first woman to be an official empress of the Roman Empire which at the time was limited to its eastern half. Her real story is even more bizarre and full of cruelty than the fictional Cersei’s life in Game of Thrones!

Irene became Empress Regent after the death of her imperial husband, being responsible for the care of her son, the official emperor Constantine VI. As Constantine approached maturity he began to grow restless under Irene’s influence. Her son Constantine VI was proclaimed as the sole ruler. Once in control of the state, Constantine proved incapable of sound governance. His army was defeated by the Arabs and Bulgarians. A movement developed in favor of his uncle Nikephoros. Constantine had his uncle's eyes put out and the tongues of his father's four other half-brothers cut off. Constantine blinded his Armenian general Alexios Mosele and then cruelly repressed the revolt of his supporters. He then divorced his wife Maria of Amnia, who had failed to provide him with a male heir, and married his mistress Theodote, an unpopular and illegal act.  On 19 April 797 Constantine was captured, blinded, and imprisoned by the supporters of his mother, who had organized a conspiracy, leaving Irene to be crowned as first Empress regnant of Constantinople.

As a sole ruler Irene restored the adoration of icons in the Byzantine Empire. In 800 Pope Leo III crowned the Carolygian king Charlemagne as Roman Emperor. Irene had previously failed to make a marriage between her son and Charlemagne’s daughter. Relations between the two empires remained difficult. Irene is said to have endeavoured a marriage alliance between herself and Charlemagne, but according to Theophanes the Confessor, who alone mentions it, the scheme was frustrated by Aetios, one of her favourites.

In the end Irene’s grasp for power did not last and her end was an unfortunate one. A conspiracy of noblemen deposed Irene in 802, exiling her to Lesbos, where she was forced to support herself by spinning wool. She died the following year.

A Monk, a Fox, a Bitter Man and the Three Goddesses of Destiny

Sometimes I enjoy revisiting the same books. A good language experiment is learned from reading a book in a new translation and then thinking of the subtle differences in expression relative to the original language. Recently I re-read “The Sandman: Dream Hunters” by Neil Gaiman, with illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano. I was fascinated by this book for the first time some 16 years ago in its original English edition and now I bought it in a Spanish translation.

My second reading of Neil Gaiman’s tale made me think about the power relationship between men and women. In the story a monk and a fox with the spirit of a woman fall in love, but their idyll is disturbed by a powerful wizard who wants to rob the monk’s happiness. The wizard commands three witches to aid him, one is an old woman, the second a beautiful and naked youth, and the third is a woman neither young nor old. He asks the witches why he suffers with fear and cannot feel tranquility. The young woman, who possessed an eerie beauty for one could not say whether she was alive or dead, answered that the magician was afraid because he was alive. The old woman replied that men only achieve peace in the grave or for a brief moment while contemplating the sunset. The woman who was neither young nor old offered a solution to the magician, pointing out that a young monk who had no wealth or power nevertheless enjoyed all the tranquility of this world. The wizard must therefore kill the young monk to rob him of the tranquility and love in his heart!

It is a beautiful tale, full of meaning, and it captured my imagination all these years. I am particularly fascinated by the intense relationship of the male characters (the monk and the wizard) with the women (the fox and the witches). In my personal interpretation Gaiman’s story is a dreamy and emotional retelling of the difficult choices men face when dealing with beauty and loneliness. In ancient cultures men use their power and strength to get what they want and desire, but it is not the same to possess something out of force or fear than receiving love freely. Men, especially the most powerful, dominate their women, first their mothers (the old woman), then their wives (the woman neither young nor old), and finally their daughters or second brides (the young woman) whose youth shows a vigor that instills awe and jealousy in the older men who fear death. But what does the Wizard get out of his power? The Beauty in his captive witches (for they are his servants) is enthralling and yet it feels as something terrible for it is devoid of any real affection. Instead of love the master wizard only receives spite, resentment and hatred. The wizard understands this, but it is different knowing the truth and relinquishing control to free one’s destiny. Power is too seductive and no person in its possession gives it up freely. Kings, but also parents, spouses and each one of us experiences such temptations.

The old woman’s reply that Man only lives tranquil briefly while enjoying the dying sunlight at day's end is also an implication on how Beauty relates to us. The sunset is beautiful and yet it is a beauty outside the influence of men. It shines for everyone equally, poor or rich. Yet the monk owns things even more prized than the radiant sun. One, the buddhist peaceful enlightenment. Two, he is loved by the fox spirit who never wishes to abandon him. Unlike the sun which shines independently of our merits these loving gifts are only received from others’ free choice and that makes them even more precious. Generosity and love are more prized than sunlight!

Neil Gaiman wrote an epilogue that erroneously claims the story to be based on a Japanese folk tale, which was a joke intended to deceive those who dislike giving the due worth to modern authors. However, the love story between the fox spirit and the monk does resemble some Japanese and Chinese folk tales, which remain popular even nowadays and have been adapted to the cinema. Other elements of Gaiman's book do differ a lot from these eastern stories, so one cannot state the book is a simple adaptation of an old tale or that its inspiration is based on a single source. What matters is that The Dream Hunters is my favorite book by Neil Gaiman and it is definitely an original work and one deeply imbued with lessons, passion and dreams.