Tesla and the American Dream

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I watch a lot of documentaries, especially since so many are coming from the grassroots level and have become so enlightening. In many, Nikola Tesla is discussed. When I was a kid, I learned all about Thomas Edison but I don't remember learning much about Tesla. Thomas Edison, a consummate capitalist, exemplified the American dream.

Tesla wasn't money minded; he believed electricity should be free to everyone worldwide. Almost every time Tesla has been mentioned in a documentary, we are told that he died penniless, and I used to feel sorry for him because of that. But now, after all the years I've been observing and living the capitalism nightmare, I truly believe the guy probably died content and at peace with himself. He was not one of the millions of people on their death bed who express the regret that they spent their whole life working for money. I will not be one of those people either.

The whole time I've been working on the XQ Super School Challenge, I've wrestled with the idea that if we actually won, we would suddenly have a LOT of money, money that I am not sure we even need. I'm not entering the challenge for the money.

For the present, we have to play the capitalism game to live a quality life, at least to some extent. The bulk of any money we receive to support the L&LNM super school will go to salaries. We will be able to do this because we won't be spending a lot on overhead costs. Everyone will earn a good living salary so they can concentrate on helping our kids learn and not have to worry about how to pay the utility bills.

I will end this post with Tesla quotes that fit so well with what L&LNM wants, and doesn't want, to be.

  • "What we now want is closer contact and better understanding between individuals and communities all over the earth, and the elimination of egoism and pride which is always prone to plunge the world into primeval barbarism and strife...Peace can only come as a natural consequence of universal enlightenment."
  • "The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly but one can think deeply and be quite insane." 
  • "Let the future tell the truth and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine." 
  • (to those who make everything about competition and money) 
    • "If your hate could be turned into electricity, it would light up the world."
    • "To resist this inherent fighting tendency the best way is to dispel ignorance of the doings of others by a systematic spread of general knowledge." 



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