Fact : Einstein may have sent the letter that started the atom bomb project, but he was strictly against its use as anything but a deterrent to Nazis, and he had the vision to see the full long term consequences of using it on civilians, which is why the US Govt never allowed him to be involved in the Manhattan Project.
He did all he could to stop them - his letter begging the US not to use it on Japanese citizens lay unopened on the prez's desk the day Hiroshima was bombed. One message not reached in time brought so much suffering. People who say "Hey, that was the only way to end the war" -- are too unimaginative. There are always more creative ways to achieve a goal. Einstein was advocating that if they really wanted to demonstrate the a-bomb, they should do it over the sea, too far to harm but sufficient enough to scare. Anyways, seeing that ultimately 2 cities were destroyed, that too the second one happened without even giving the Japanese sufficient time to decide, it's obvious the Americans didn't exactly have the greater good in mind. Self-restraint is the mark of a civilized nation, not bullying.
The smartest man on the planet spent the later part of his life continuously opposing the nuclear arms race and making bold and controversial appeals for peace, including ratifying most of Gandhi's philosophies.
In hindsight, what makes you think we should not heed the advice of one the greatest minds to have done so much to make humanity leap-frog its progress?
What makes you think, whenever you say "ok" to anyone who advocates war or conflict or "extreme measures" against any "enemy", that the warmonger is smarter than Einstein?
If he/she is not, what stops you from throwing the warmonger's advice out of the window?
He did all he could to stop them - his letter begging the US not to use it on Japanese citizens lay unopened on the prez's desk the day Hiroshima was bombed. One message not reached in time brought so much suffering. People who say "Hey, that was the only way to end the war" -- are too unimaginative. There are always more creative ways to achieve a goal. Einstein was advocating that if they really wanted to demonstrate the a-bomb, they should do it over the sea, too far to harm but sufficient enough to scare. Anyways, seeing that ultimately 2 cities were destroyed, that too the second one happened without even giving the Japanese sufficient time to decide, it's obvious the Americans didn't exactly have the greater good in mind. Self-restraint is the mark of a civilized nation, not bullying.
The smartest man on the planet spent the later part of his life continuously opposing the nuclear arms race and making bold and controversial appeals for peace, including ratifying most of Gandhi's philosophies.
In hindsight, what makes you think we should not heed the advice of one the greatest minds to have done so much to make humanity leap-frog its progress?
What makes you think, whenever you say "ok" to anyone who advocates war or conflict or "extreme measures" against any "enemy", that the warmonger is smarter than Einstein?
If he/she is not, what stops you from throwing the warmonger's advice out of the window?
No comments:
Post a Comment