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Peretz and the hump
Just like camel can't see its hump, ex-defense minister didn't see his own faults
"In retrospect," said Amir Peretz in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth published Friday, "it would have been better not to go for the defense portfolio. There is no doubt the post I should have insisted on, even at the price of a coalition crisis if needed, was that of finance minister."
When we say "in retrospect" we mean thinking back, after the fact. The opposite of "in retrospect" is "to begin with." To begin with, Amir Peretz should not have been appointed defense minister. Why? Because Amir Peretz had no defense credentials and no relevant experience.
Everyone saw this and knew this, even Amir Peretz. Yet as is the way of the world, the moment the idea to entrust the defense portfolio at the hands of the rookie Amir Peretz was raised, we started hearing supportive voices: "It's actually a good idea!; "He's actually fit for the job!" Some wise even people declared that Amir Peretz' lack of experience is actually an advantage, because that way he will assume the senior post without any prejudice or previous commitments.
All these baseless theories came to the world only because Olmert simply offered him the job (apparently because of genuine concern for the Treasury, and an even deeper concern for his friend Hirchson.)
Why did Amir Peretz take the post anyway? Because he was flattered. Because he thought that the post doesn't matter, it's the person who matters. Because he was tempted to think that this is the proper springboard to the post of prime minister; because he wanted to believe that everything will be alright. That next to him he has an excellent army chief and an experienced team. Amir Peretz fooled himself into thinking that at the time there was no other post open to him.
This is the way of the world, and the way people tend to be. One sheds all precautions and everything one knows about oneself. Amir Peretz's instinctive response to the proposal to be defense minister should have been: "Defense minister?!? Me?!? Ehud, come on. Don't be kidding now. This is not my area of expertise after all. What do I know about defense?" Instead, what came out was: "Actually, why not?"
Every time, I'm surprised to see the piles of "in retrospect" out there where "to begin with" was supposed to reign. So many people are tempted to assume posts that are way beyond their abilities just because they blushed when they heard a tempting offer and were presented with a one-time opportunity.
They find it difficult to believe that they were offered the job even though they're unfit for it, and are tempted to think that the odd proposal itself is the proof of their suitability for the post.
"There you have it," says a person who stutters. "If they offered me the job of TV announcer it means I don't really stutter." "Here's the proof," says the truck driver. "If I have a record of 200 serious driving violations, but I still have a driver's license, it means I can keep on driving."
The camel does not see its own hump, says an Arab proverb that refers to the human trait that prevents people from seeing their own shortcomings. On second thought: The camel does see its own hump, but in retrospect.
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