Nikola Tesla | Timeless Wisdom and Insight

Words from the man who gave the world AC – Alternating Current

Nikola Tesla – underrated is an understatement regarding this man’s brilliance of mind and contributions to the world.

I just finished reading  My Inventions: The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla, and have a newfound respect for the incredible genius of this man.  He not only had an amazing ability to come up with transformative new technology and discovery but also the insight into the possible repercussions and misuse of some of these inventions.

And that’s what I want to share today – a passage in his book that seems as if it could have been written today, but in fact, is his words from over 90 years ago.

“War can not be avoided until the physical cause for its recurrence is removed and this, in the last analysis, is the vast extent of the planet on which we live. Only thru annihilation of distance in every respect, as the conveyance of intelligence, transport of passengers and supplies and transmission of energy will conditions be brought about some day, insuring permanency of friendly relations.

What we now want most is closer contact and better understanding between individuals and communities all over the earth, and the elimination of that fanatic devotion to exalted ideals of national egoism and pride which is always prone to plunge the world into primeval barbarism and stirfe.

No league or parliamentary act of any kind will every prevent such a calamity. These are only new devices for putting the weak at the mercy of the strong.  I have exprest myself in this regard fourteen years ago, when a combination of a few leading governments – a sort of Holy Alliance – was advocated by the late Andrew Carnegie, who may be fairly considered as the father of this idea, having given to it more publicity and impetus than anybody else prior to the efforts of the President.

While it can not be denied that such a pact might be of material advantage to some less fortunate peoples, it can not attain the chief object sought. Peace can only come as a natural consequence of universal enlightenment and merging of races, and we are still far from this blissful realization.

As I view the world of today, in the light of the gigantic struggle we have witnest, I am filled with conviction that the interests of humanity would be best served if the United States remained true to its traditions and kept out of “entangling alliances.”

Situated as it is, geographically, remote from the theatres of impending conflicts, without incentive to territorial aggrandizement, with inexhaustible resources and immense population thoroly imbued with the spirits of liberty and right, this country is placed in a unique and privileged position. It is thus able to exert, independently, its colossal strength and moral force to the benefit of all, more judiciously and effectively, than as a member of a league.” p. 101