Such As We Are: Return

It has been over two years since I posted on this blog, and in all honesty I’m not sure why I stopped. The pace of life didn’t really change in the summer of 2013, though the challenges and dynamics changed as they do. Posts on my main blog grew fewer and further between as well, and I suspect part of the reason was that I’ve been using the blog for more long-form writing than is probably called for.

Whatever the reason, now is a good time to come back to Quod Sumus, with some edgier writing than in 2013, even though I’m now busier than at any previous time in my life. Here are some things I’ve learned in the last year or so:

1. Virtues
   1. Forgiveness and good will are a lot better than grudges and suspicion. Most of the time.
   2. If you have a choice in your mind between saying something constructive or destructive, go with constructive. You might not feel as good as if you get things off your chest, but you will in the long run. Every time I’ve made the destructive mistake, I’ve regretted it. Except when I haven’t.
   3. The longer I live, the more I am convinced that society’s ethical compass needs to be triangulated between deontological, consequential, and intentionalist ethics. These days consequentialist ethics seem to be running the farm, with bad results. The fact is, intention matters in evaluating action or speech (the two are separate). It doesn’t absolve one completely from the consequences of one’s actions or speech, but must still be considered in evaluating the morality of the thing itself. Not a lot of that going around these days, but I’m with Abelard on this one.
2. My profession
   1. It’s apparently impossible for me to do a perfect job interview, partly because I feel the interview process is largely bogus. I’ll just keep working on overcoming my aversion to selling a tight-knit, visionary scholarly package that no one cares about once you’re a colleague, and which everyone knows is largely bull.
   2. The historical profession in general, and medieval studies in particular, seems to be drifting toward trends that don’t value the time period I study, the topics I study, or my reasons for studying what I study. Well, screw ’em, because I’m not changing.
   3. Teaching a 5-6, and producing scholarship at the same time, has taught me a lot about how to manage time. I have no patience anymore with full-time faculty who gripe about having to teach 3 classes a semester. Yes, I know that you have faculty meetings that I don’t, but that still doesn’t even the playing field.
   4. Unions and formal legal protections and requirements are the only sane way to go. Nothing makes me more nervous than when someone says to me “well, we don’t really want to get all formal and official here.” Oh yes we do…
3. Life hacks
   1. Horses are wise, perceptive creatures. Sometimes too perceptive. But working with them is good for the soul.
   2. Having hobbies you do outside your job and profession is healthy and beneficial for all concerned. When his house caught fire, Hollister saved his collection of children’s literature ahead of his manuscript on the life of Henry I. I get his reasoning. I’d save my guitars ahead of my books. Well, most of my books.
   3. Social media is often more trouble than it’s worth, especially Twitter. Seriously, if I read an article or a primary source for the amount of time that I’m sucked into Twitter on a daily basis, I could catch up on my reading lists. Besides, people don’t want conversation on Twitter, they want echo chambers. Read a book.
   4. You can’t put a price on good friends and family. Treasure them.
   5. Fatherhood has a way of making you realize what life’s true priorities are, both for you, your spouse, and your little one. The things one obsesses about seem quite petty in comparison to experiencing the joy of life in one’s family.

That’s all for now. Hopefully I can keep posting on Quod Sumus at least a couple times a month.

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