Believe it or not, there was once a time when
science was respected, not frowned upon or ridiculed.Today it sounds like a fairy tale, doesn't
it? But in the late 19th and early 20th centuries science led the
way. It was a time of great technological developments and advancement.
Illiterate people could still be technologically advanced - due to their
learning the intricacies of the new mechanical technologies.
Into this time a young Albert Einstein, who
would change the world, arguably, more than any other human before him,
achieved his first notoriety. I speak of course of his 1905 paper on The Theory
of Special Relativity. The document was panned at the time by most scientists who
stuck to Newtonian Physics and Einstein was
considered to be a bit of a joke in some circles. It wasn't until 1919 when an
Englishman, Stanley Eddington, astronomer, physicist and mathematician, proved
the theory through the observance of a solar eclipse down in Sobral, Brazil,
thus verifying Einstein's genius. He had been considered one of Germany's best
minds within the scientific community for some time but now the public- the
world public- accepted his theory.
Einstein opposed the First World War. In
fact, at 16 he was a draft dodger. He left Germany and joined his parents, who
now lived in Italy, only to return to Germany after the war when the Weimar
Republic (Germany's first democratic government) was formed. Many of his
friends in science (many of them Jews) signed the Declaration of Militarization
and the Occupation of Belgium and went to work for the German war machine.
Included was Fritz Haber, who was Jewish. Haber was a physical
chemist who invented chemical warfare. We know what implications this would
have in the years to come.
Einstein said, "I am not only a
pacifist, but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight, to fight for
peace." He despised nationalism. "Nationalism is an infantile
disease," he said "It is the measles of mankind." A Jew who
experienced anti-Semitism as a youngster growing up in southern Germany, a more
agrarian existence then the typical urban, militaristic, Prussian upbringing we
think of when we think of German culture, he became a crusader who spoke out on
issues from women's rights and racism to immigration and nuclear arms control.
One of his great regrets was that his work in physics helped lead to the
creation of the great weapon of destruction the atom bomb. "I do not know
how the Third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use
in the Fourth - rocks!"
Director Julia Newman has created an enlightening
profile of the man Time Magazine named its Person of the Century. “Albert Einstein: Still a Revolutionary†lives up to its
summarization in the First Run Features press release:
"An anti-war firebrand, Einstein also spoke out on issues ranging
from women's rights and racism to immigration and nuclear arms control. But
today, his image has been neutered into that of a charmingly absent-minded genius. He was, in fact, a powerful force
for social change and a model for political activism."
Though Herr Einstein
was resistant of fame at the beginning of his career, he eventually embraced it
to help deliver his messages of peace and social justice. He was not only a
scientist but also a humanitarian and futurist. He could see where the world
was heading. It's a sad commentary on humanity's arc that he was correct about
its trajectory in so many ways. “Albert Einstein: Still a Revolutionary†is so
timely right now - it's scary.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON (Release date: May 26)