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Mauricio Trabanino Ms. Bailey AP English Language Block A October 28, 2011 Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it. Albert Einstein Coming from Einstein, these words came as a surprise to me, especially because I recently researched his involvement in the creation of the atom bomb. He wrote a letter to the president stating that creating the bomb was a necessary move; he also developed the Theory of Relativity (E=mc2), the principle upon which the deadly weapon was developed. However he later regretted ever writing the letter to the president because he saw the results of his work. The purpose for which he wrote the letter was to prevent Germans from creating them and unleashing hell upon the world. His noble purpose of ending all wars by creating a weapon that all would fear was darkened by the massacre of innocent victims that the bombs created in Japan. This case is exactly like Dr. Gatling who by developing the Gatling Gun (a precursor to the modern machine gun) sought to end all wars. Till the end of their days, both Einstein and Gatling lamented their contributions, which I believe is punishment enough. Similar cases are the reason for which men should think their actions more thoroughly and base them upon moral principles. It is possible for one to be the most responsible and powerful person in the world, but once that power comes into the wrong hands (like the a-bomb in the hands of a weakened government), disaster is fairly inevitable. Einsteins noble words were the code by which he lived most of his life, even if his theory did bring the world great things such as nuclear energy, Einstein regretted his contribution until the very end.

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Thoreau would be in complete agreement with Einstein, this is clearly demonstrated by Civil Disobedience where Thoreau stated that moral laws should govern the world and not the norms of an governmental oligarchy. Thoreau, however would not be in agreement with Einsteins request to the president to build the atom bomb; Thoreau would rather die than potentially harm others in such massive quantities (demonstrated by his active protest and condemnation of the Mexican American War in Civil Disobedience). Despite the unpredictably horrible choice, Thoreau would admire Einstein for making him heard through the government, therefore being an active civilian who cares for the welfare of all. I have always been a person who abides by moral laws in daily life; such a lifestyle has subjected me to things such as peer pressure and very powerful moral temptations. I strive to live my life in a Christian manner and deeply care about others (whether I like them or not), because I realize that in a very deep sense they are also my responsibility in the eyes of God. This being said, I would never follow a law that would make me break my relationship with God in any way. If there were conscription and I was forced to go to war (one for an unjust cause), I would never kill a man. I would try never to go in the first place, Id probably run away, anything before giving my life for an unjust cause. Now if the war were against slavery, then Id consider going. I would give my life rather than kill another man. This quote will be a code for me in the future in the field of Genetic Engineering. So many terrible things are done in the name of science to do good. What people dont understand is that those ways are usually the easiest and the most comfortable ones; going the extra mile and not breaking any moral laws would bring true good from research and move humanity forward in both science and morals.