A professor I once knew speaking about conflicts in academia: "The conflict is so bitter because the stakes are so low." Couldn't get that thought out of my head scanning through all of these comments.

The Erich Fromm interview is similarly forward-looking and insightful.

Among other things, it was pleasant to be reminded of what I think is one of the great accomplishments of mankind so far: not destroying ourselves with nuclear weapons. Getting a glimpse of that big uncertainty looming on the horizon from Fromm's point of view gave me some hope that we'll be able to deal with the climate change crisis we're currently facing. Hopefully with the impending removal of the Bush administration we'll be able to contribute a little more to both of these aims here in the U.S.