How Einstein Empowered the Individual (and Broke the World)

The adjective relative, derived from the French relatif, landed in the English language in the 15th century. But for the sake of argument, let us assume the word gained a new life with Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.

Any work which allows for the bending of space-time surely allows one license to exercise the right to perspective. Each of us possesses the possibility of a unique perspective (only a possibility because if one fails to exercise the thought muscle he will simply parrot the perspective of another). The wealth of art, ideas, and products we have access to derives from our inherent uniqueness. One size does not fit all. One’s take on an object or a notion is indeed relative.

Accepting one’s uniqueness and the relative value of perspective provides the opportunity for personal growth along a user-defined line. Should one decide that, relative to all other values, kindness is the value most prized, one may restructure their life to reflect and honor the value of kindness. Likewise, should one determine that being a poet is the highest and most noble of professional pursuits, other potential occupations, all lacking in relative significance, may be discarded. In the individual realm, even truth is subject to interpretation. What is good, or true, for the goose is not necessarily good, or true, for the gander.

In the societal realm, however, this very notion of relativity cracks the door to endless speculation and dissent. Take the case of “fake news.” Once a news organization breaches the trust of the viewer, the door to interpretation (as opposed to unquestioning acceptance) swings wide, and with the realization that information is being presented from a particular perspective or bias—that it is relative information—it engenders a disbelief which feeds upon itself. Similarly, each elected official or expert who is revealed as corrupt and/or incompetent further denigrates and debases the institution they represent until one takes all of the like with a grain of salt.

As freedoms are challenged and erased, as institutions corrode, as control is exerted, exercising one’s thought muscle and seeking one’s personal truth is neither dissension nor anarchy. It is necessity. In these times, even “facts” must be open for inspection and consideration.

Remember, it is all relative.