There is one word in the English language that is permanently embedded into every American’s heart, mind, and soul. Fear. It is a feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger. Fear is an overwhelming emotion that can ultimately freeze one’s thoughts and movements for a brief period of time. Everyone is fearful of something. Since September 11, 2001, every American has started each day by waking with the fear of terrorism.
That horrible and viscous act of terrorism on September 11 has stirred unknown fears in everyone and has caused the United States to enter into a state of war with those terrorists and the country that is harboring them. What kind of war will this war be? The war might be a rapid, short war where the enemy surrenders abruptly, or it might go as far as becoming the third world war with other countries turning on each other. I assume that if there is a third world war, biological and chemical weapons will be used extensively and that the world could seal its own fate. Albert Einstein’s words supports this theory: “I don’t know what kind of weapons will be used in the third world war, assuming there will be a third world war. But I can tell you what the fourth world war will be fought with – stone clubs.” Arguably Albert Einstein is one of the most important and intelligent people in the 20th Century. His role in WWII could have easily been reversed, and we all might be hailing Hitler right now.
Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, to Jewish parents in Ulm, Germany. In 1905, he postulated that mass is a form of energy. This breakthrough was a major turning point in the history of physics. While visiting England and the United States in 1939, the Nazi Government took his property and deprived him of his position and his citizenship. Einstein then moved permanently to the United States and became a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. In 1939, Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt to urge the United States to engage in uranium research. After WWII, Einstein never ceased to work for peace and disarmament, and on April 18, 1955 he died.
This information helps explain how important Einstein was in the history of physics. The Nazi’s kicked Einstein out of Germany because he was Jewish, so he moved to the United States where he played a key role in the allied victory over Germany and Japan. After urging the United States to research biological weapons, he quickly began to work for peace and disarmament, knowing that these weapons of mass destruction would ultimately end the world.
I believe that what Einstein meant by indicating the fourth world war will be fought with clubs is that after the third world war, there would be nothing left from the world as we know it. With all the advanced technologies and massive weapons in the world right now, the third world war could be a nuclear or chemical holocaust and might just send us back to the days of the cave men after all the burning and radiation goes away. I completely agree with Einstein’s quote. I think that if we don’t do something to create and maintain world peace, we all might seal our own fate.
Terrorists are known to be barbarians. Anyone that is fierce, brutal, or cruel can be considered a barbarian. “History teaches us that when a barbarian race confronts a sleeping culture, the barbarian always wins,” says Arnold Toynbee. I do not agree with this quote. There are two times in history where America has been the sleeping culture and another small, ruthless country or terrorist has been the barbarian. The first time was when Japan attacked Pear Harbor and woke America. As we all know, America quickly chased Japan back to their mainland and forced them to go against their will and surrender. Another example is the brutal act of terrorism done by Osama Bin Laden on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As in WWII, the barbarian race will not win in the outcome of the war against terrorism. The US and other allied countries will eventually, after many years, break up and destroy the massive, tight-knit terrorist network. By capturing or executing many, if not all of the leaders of the network.
Hopefully, the Northern Alliance, the US, and other allied countries will be able to extinguish the terrorist wild fire before the world has to learn how to cope with all of the terrorist attacks and threats. However, for a few years the now, bizarre, anthrax threats will become a common, everyday experience and the economy will be sluggish. But, like before, America will overcome these events and will flourish once again. As stated by President Bush, terrorist’s can destroy the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.