New Year's Resolutions for an Academic

It's not much of a stretch to suggest 2011 weighed heavily on many fronts. America remained at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economy showed limited signs of recovery, and my own institution experienced its own internal challenges. In a curious parallel, I reached the half-century mark and the first signs of serious light to a health problem. As a typical academic, I responded by publishing more than I had over much of my career always waiting for the bad news. But 2012 came anyway and nothing happened. The world didn't end. We still pay taxes. We worry about much the same stuff as all middle class Americans. Therein rests part of the problem. We are accustomed to the idea of a tragic and/or heroic series of events. Our motivations in 2011 fell largely into the camp of hoping the worst was over -- however one viewed the world. In this sense, our political debates would suggest we're still living in 2011. Ernst Bloch devoted three volumes to exploring the principle of hope and Erich Fromm pushed us to rethink love. However we may feel, what we do matters. For all the voices silenced over the ages, we have an obligation to revisit the treasures of our civilization and claim them again for ourselves and the next generation.