Albert Einstein Quotes
The led must not be compelled; they must be able to choose their own leader.
Einstein, Albert. Ideas and Opinions. Crown Publishers, 1954, p. 9.
The United States was opposed to elections at the beginning of the Vietnam war. The Viet Min, the Russian and Chinese recognized government of Ho Chi Min, was extremely well organized as a result of their cohesive organization and victory over the French Colonialists. At the urging of the French, we supported the previous Vietnam Emperor who the French had supported. However his popularity was limited to Saigon and French Colonial centers. The majority of the population saw him as the collaborator who was propped up by the hated French. There was no way that the Communist Viet Min would lose in an election. There had been no time for the people to see what peacetime living under the communists was like, and what they knew of the Emperor, they did not like. It was important to keep Vietnam from falling into the hands of the Communists. Once they won one election they would control the machinery of government to be sure that they won all subsequent elections even if the people wanted a change in government. The German newspaper thought that we should stick to our principles and allow a free election and live with the consequences. In retrospect, we would be where we ended up anyway with the Communist Viet Min in totalitarian control of the country and we would have saved many lives and much money.
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest physicists of all time. Einstein is known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics. Relativity and quantum mechanics are together the two pillars of modern physics. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from relativity theory, has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation". His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. His intellectual achievements and originality resulted in "Einstein" becoming synonymous with "genius".
