World As I See It

LOW 3

If you were to ask someone, who is the smartest person ever, I think it is fair to say a majority of people would probably say Albert Einstein. Even if they know near nothing about him, his name is synonymous with intelligence. Because of this, I thought it would be really interesting to see his perspective on life and the world. Although I was aware he was by no means an expert in all fields, I felt his opinions and perspective as one of the smartest people ever, was still valid and interesting.

After reading, it is abundantly clear to me, over anything else, that Einstein was a good human being. Even before his obvious intellect, his compassion is what was most notable. It is apparent in almost every letter or passage in this entire book. Firstly, he was staunchly anti-war and anti-violence. Could not be more clear that he thought that warfare, nationalism and the military-industrial complex was deplorable. Also, he seemed to always, at least try, to stick up for the marginalized communities. He was an advocate for equal rights and a friend to people fighting tyranny. I was pleased to find out that Einstein was almost always on the good side of history.

The only time Einstein seemed to falter, at least in my opinion, was in his Zionism. Unfortunately, given the time period he lived through, I think this is pretty understandable and unsurprising. Einstein is German and lived throughout both World Wars and the Holocaust. It goes without saying how much of a problem antisemitism was. So, it is not surprising Einstein was an advocate for what he deemed a safe space for all Jews. To Einstein's credit, he did speak about Zionism in a way that a Zionist today would. He was adamant about how a positive relationship with the Arab community was imperative. He was an advocate for more peaceful, left-wing policies and he wanted to build up the region for Jews and Arabs alike. At the end of the day, he truly felt that some sort of Jewish community was needed in Palestine for the safety of all Jewish people. However, his mostly good intentions are still flawed. He himself, in this book, described the Zionist endeavor as "colonialism". The idea of a Jewish safe space in Palestine is not the problem, the problem is that people already lived there. Forcing people out of their homeland, through violence or apartheid, because you want a "safe space" is never okay, even after something as horrific as the Holocaust. It is an interesting thought to wonder what Einstein would have thought about Israel and Palestine today. His compassion for the persecuted and disgust for militarism and nationalism is clear. However, his blindness for these things when it comes to Zionism is clear at multiple points in this book. Although I do think his intentions were not harmful, it is clear today Zionism has only done harm. Not only do I feel that Israel's offensive military actions have increased antisemitism, it is clearly not a safe space for anyone.

Even though I feel he had his flaws, from this book, I think it is clear that Einstein was a compassionate and good man. This was something that I was very pleased and happy to know about what most people consider history's smartest man.