Memorial De Sainte Helene: Journal of the Private Life and Conversations of the Emperor Napoleon at Saint Helena, Volume 1

He urged defendants to refuse to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, saying that every person should be БЂњprepared for jail and economic ruinБЂ¦ for the sacrifice of his personal welfare in the interest ofБЂ¦ his country.БЂ«He held that there was БЂњa duty in refusing to cooperate in any undertaking that violates the Constitutional rights of the individual. This holds in particular for all inquisitions that are concerned with the private life and the political affiliations of the citizensБЂ¦БЂ«For taking this position, Einstein was widely attacked in the press. And Senator Joseph McCarthy stated in 1953 that anyone who proffered such advice was БЂњhimself an enemy of America.БЂ«In his later years it became fashionable in some circles to couple an acknowledgment of EinsteinБЂ™s scientific genius with a patronizing dismissal of his political views as БЂњnative.БЂ«But times have changed. I wonder if it is not more reasonable to argue in quite a different direction: in a field such as physics, where ideas can be quantified and tested with great precision, EinsteinБЂ™s insights stand unrivaled, and we are astonished that he could see so clearly where others were lost in confusion ...»