July 2003

A Great Mind

In keeping with the title of this new column, I’d like to put forth the enduring words of another man for contemplation. For written words do endure, but for at least two divergent reasons. One is the maxim as a warning; that once written, ideas can often be misconstrued and there’s no reversing the permanence. That’s likely the category to which most of my original writings belong. Down the road these writings, being as trivial as they often are, will likely reveal more about the author than the subject with which the writings are concerned. The other reason that written words may endure is because of their timelessness, relevance, and elegance. Written words in this category endure because they transcend the time in which they were written, or they capture the time so efficiently that they must be preserved for posterity if nothing else, or simply for their outright beauty. My aspirations to write at this level, while perhaps naïve and unrealistic, are born out of awe at the writings of great people throughout history. One such great person whose words have endured, although not nearly as prominently as they should have, is Albert Einstein. The relevance that these quotations still carry in the 21st century, and the elegance with which they are delivered is quite remarkable.

Read the following quote and keep in mind the current proposed defense budget (which is something around $400 billion, none of which will go towards improved homeland security nor rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan).

The armament industry is indeed one of the greatest dangers that beset mankind. It is the hidden evil power behind the nationalism which is rampant everywhere” (120)

Truer now more than ever. The military industrial complex may as well be a branch of the government, with it’s own taxpayer-provided offices and staff. A frighteningly large percentage of our country’s leaders are former, and in some cases current, board members and paid consultants for the mega-corporations that bid for these large arms-related contracts. It’s not the nationalism that’s evil, it’s the shameless and highly lucrative exploitation of it by the armament industry and therefore our government.

Another quote with particular relevance to the current times of multi-hued terror levels and fictional missile defense shields:

In our time the military mentality is still more dangerous than formerly because the offensive weapons have become much more powerful than the defensive ones. Therefore it leads, by necessity, to preventive war. The general insecurity that goes hand in hand with this results in the sacrifice of the citizen’s civil rights to the supposed welfare of the state” (146)

This statement was made in 1947 and is still true. Our most powerful offensive weapons, nuclear devices, are much stronger than our defensive weapons. I imagine our main defensive weapon is intelligence, and that’s obviously questionable. Not to mention the so-called missile defense shield/system that’s been in development for decades and that we’ve paid billions of dollars towards to no avail.

And instead of preventative war, as Einstein calls it, now we’ve got pre-emptive war as a result of terrorism. We’re still dealing with lots of preventative war, and the concept of mutually assured destruction (North Korea, Iran, India, Pakistan), but terrorism has allowed the U.S. to introduce a whole new realm of self-destructive possibility with pre-emptive war. (In point of fact pre-emptive war isn't really all that new of a concept on the whole, but it’s new for it to be done openly and on such a large scale.) Additionally, the last line of the quote above may as well have been written in regards to terrorism it fits so well. That premise is exactly what John Ashcroft is basing all his ‘protective’ actions on, he loves it. How else could he rationalize the Patriot Act?

This next quote I should have included in my diatribe of last month to strengthen the case. The only thing Einstein’s missed here is inclusion of television as another medium with the means to ‘subtly indoctrinate’ the American culture. Less and less subtly these days, thanks to Michael Powell and the FCC.

Every single act in foreign policy is governed exclusively by one viewpoint: how do we have to act in order to achieve utmost superiority over the opponent in case of war? Arming and economic strengthening of potential allies. Subtle indoctrination of the public by radio, press, and schools. Growing restriction of the range of public information under the pressure of military secrecy” (174)

In regards to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and Bush’s ‘road map’ to peace (looking more and more like a ‘road map’ to escalation of tensions and death), Einstein makes some decidedly poignant comments. Although he obviously wasn’t addressing that conflict specifically, these comments are nonetheless quite apt in relation to any nations’ or people’s struggle to attain true peace. While the U.S. could stand to heed the call of the first quote, the Israelis and Palestinians could stand to attempt to grasp the concept of the second quote, the goal Einstein speaks of being peace of course.

It is impossible to achieve peace as long as every single action is taken with a possible future conflict in view” (175)

One has to be resolved not to let himself be forced to actions that run counter to this goal” (181-182)

And penultimately a statement of Albert Einstein that is glaringly apparent in it’s relevance, yet sadly after a half-century the truth of which still stands:

In two weeks the sheep-like masses of any country can be worked up by the newspapers into such a state of excited fury that men are prepared to put on uniforms and kill and be killed, for the sake of the sordid ends of a few interested parties” (15-16)

One more as food for thought:

In these days of democratic government the fate of nations hangs on the people themselves; each individual must always bear that in mind” (116)

All these words of Einstein endure, and with good reason. It’s too bad more light is not cast onto the political thoughts of great minds of the past, after all what is past is prologue.

All quotes taken from:

Einstein, Albert. Ideas and Opinions. New York: The Modern Library, 1994