Editorial September 19, 1988 Issue

Spiritual translators

Michael D. Rissler

If you've ever seen a simultaneous translator at work, you know it's a fascinating experience. The translator listens to what's said and then immediately repeats the message in another language.

In a way, each of us is a simultaneous translator. We're constantly observing, evaluating, and acting upon what happens in the world, seeking to understand what events mean to our lives. How significant we believe an event to be often depends on how we perceive the impact, or reality, of an event, of a person, or of an idea.

For example, suppose that you live in Canada. And last Friday afternoon two ranchers in Australia came to agreement in a legal suit regarding property that lies between their two ranches. Unless you were a Canadian rancher, possibly involved in a similar dispute, you probably wouldn't remember the story five minutes after reading it in a newspaper.

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