Last week, we had the Maastricht University Council Day, where council members from all faculties, students and staff, gathered to reflect on where we are, what we are doing, and where we want to go. One word that kept coming up was "care". How do we get people to care more? How can we incentivize people to fight indifference? How do we push back against the crippling impact of cynicism and helplessness (both things I regularly experience)?
I think it all starts with a motivated group of people dedicating themselves to improve the status quo. I look at what the courageous students in Serbia are doing with the Novi Sad protests to root out corruption. I see colleagues fighting against budget cuts in Dutch higher education. There are embers of light everywhere. While the media likes to shine the spotlight on the Trumps and the Musks of the world, we need to pay more attention to the good people fighting the good fight. Change is possible.
The arc of the moral universe, to quote MLK, is long, but it bends toward justice. We just need more people to put their skin in the game.