I am in the early pages of: "Einstein: {the life and times}" by Ronald W. Clark. This is the Harper Perennial edition, 2007. The cover reads: "THE DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY".
This is not a book report, though I have toyed with the idea of doing a series...
Because I have "weird" ideas does not mean I am anti-science. Indeed, the fact that without science, I would not be tapping these little plastic keys for you...that irony is not lost on me. It just so happens that I kept flunking science; but that does not preclude my admiration for genius, and/or near-genius. What lies beneath the fold...?
I really have no idea why Einstein fascinates me, other than he was a genius, whatever that means. Gotta love a guy who decides socks are superfluous. Hell, my paternal grandfather discovered that himself back in the 1960s. Grandpa Chrysler was perhaps not a genius, but he was smart, worked hard, and he was a democrat's democrat, by-god (so much so that he would as a habit deliberately mis-pronounce the last name of (Governor) Ronald Reagan, calling him, "Reegan" ).
It is the idea of brilliance that fascinates, indeed, touches this writer. After all, according to my wife, I tend toward the brilliant side myself...ahem...
Einstein could sit in a theater, surrounded by noise, and sort of fold himself into his own thoughts, forming theories. He would disappear. I can do that, and I suspect our president can, too. It is, I believe, why Obama takes so long to answer a question. His (part of the one) mind is so complex, and he has to use words, do you see? Words, as I said before, somewhere, can be like laying bricks with fists. The president sees in layers. Nothing (basically) to him is black and white. This is why he seems to change his mind. He really is usually the smartest one in the room. He always has been, and by now, he is accustomed to it.
This can be a good thing, and it can be a bad thing. The president can get carried away with his own brilliance, and begin to get a little too impressed with his own intelligence. This is where the First Lady comes in. "She keeps me grounded." I don't believe in accidents. There is a reason we have this president at this time, and there is a reason he has the wife he has. There is a reason John McCain did not win (in this probability, a theory that states the "could-haves" in life actually take place 'somewhere') I believe it is because there is a constant telepathic communication between all things, and frankly, we all telepathically knew (within the "ether", as they called it in Einstein's time, saying it permeated all space) that Obama was the better choice. Barack H. Obama's layers of intelligence far outweigh those of John McCain, and clearly...certainly..those of Sarah Palin.
Earlier today I felt the pangs of some dire straits. I had thought the calls from creditors had dried up since we filed for chapter 7 protection. But there is now one more little problem, and I heard the message this morning. "This is an effort to collect a debt..."
So I have my lofty ideas/beliefs on one hand, and the sucky garbage of what we think is life on the other. Which leads me to why you're not hearing me. It is because I am not hearing myself properly. I am still focused too much on my own ego. I cannot come up with the words to show you that ultimately, we will be okay.
Regardless whether you are mad at this president, or do not understand his reasoning, or that he is facing an old entrenched monster...he is what we have, and he is freaking brilliant. He isn't John McCain (and well, probably not Einstein, either--but close--).
Einstein came close to realizing time is illusion. I believe time as we know it just does not exist. I believe everything in terms of the world is simultaneous. Thus, none of the horrible things that have happened--ever really happened--. It is like a DVD. Everything on the disk "happens" at once, we just view it at a certain speed. It's the same with what we call "reality". I believe only the love is real.
When we are buried neck deep in shit, all we can smell is shit. Thus, it is hard to smell the roses that are planted nearby, or recognize hope when it is presented. I am not as warm and fuzzy as I might appear. Nor is the president. I really do not care whether or not you believe me. That isn't what I am about, nor why I am on Daily Kos. I only care that we all (as far as we understand what all means) can pause and recognize brilliance in the White House,--or anywhere--and why it's there...and again...ultimately, we will prevail. There is more at work than we know, at least consciously. But on the level of true communication, we have it handled. Did you hear that?
"We are blinded by the glare of physical existence. But the light of home never blinds. It matters not at all how many more words we write here. We are home. Home is what matters to the far traveler; waking is what matters to the one dreaming...How far wandered, yet not a step taken...how long slept, yet nothing missed! Do hear these things. Speak what is given to speak. Nothing has been destroyed." --We Who Dream, pg. 45.