Monthly Archives: July 2016

The D and R Conventions

Posted on July 30, 2016 by hessd

They are over now. At least for me. For the last two nights, I have watched a bunch of very capable Democrats giving really terrific speeches. If it were just for the pleasure of living in the world their words … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged Clinton and Kaine, Democrats, global production, global workforce, persistent poverty, proxy villains, Republicans, Trump and Pence, Trump Republicans | Leave a comment

Leaving home and coming home

Posted on July 26, 2016 by hessd

“Coming and going and going and coming, and always too soon,” sings Lili von Schtupp in her Wild West barroom show in Blazing Saddles. When I began to call the series of essays describing this move “Moving in Time,” part … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Getting Old, Politics, Society, Uncategorized | Tagged a society of salience, an economy of sucrose, grafting a new branch, moving in, moving out, retirement centers, the politics of hormones | Leave a comment

Knowing how it turned out

Posted on July 24, 2016 by hessd

Milton Mayer used to make fun of people who use Latin where they could just as well have used English. He managed to do that inoffensively by making that error repeatedly and then making fun of himself for doing it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Environment, Theology | Tagged C. S. Lewis, environmental disaster, Ethics for a Broken World, knowing the outcome, The Great Divorce, the omniscient narrator, Tim Mulgan | 1 Comment

Genre and Meaning

Posted on July 22, 2016 by hessd

I want to ask you to think along with me today on meaning and scripture. I want to say that explicitly at the beginning because the opening example will seem to be about something else entirely, especially, coming as it … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Uncategorized | Tagged careful scholarship, genre as a source of meaning, kinds of meaning, the meaning of "messiah", the suffering servant songs | 2 Comments

A Failed Conversation at Starbucks

Posted on July 10, 2016 by hessd

I experienced one of the few failures of conversation I have ever had in our Starbucks group last week. I had a position I wanted to sell. It is position the group almost certainly accepts in general, but they didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Political Psychology, Uncategorized | Tagged conversation, empathy with enemies, letting go of the lesser good, paying attention to the costs, Starbucks, The Northwest Corner Caucus | Leave a comment

Arguing with Trump voters

Posted on July 5, 2016 by hessd

I’m not recommending it. I’m just thinking about how I would go about it. The argument from self-interest is the best there is in electoral politics. And although we celebrate elected representatives who can sacrifice their own good for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Political Psychology, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged don't believe the liberal media, economic self-interest, Mexicans are stealing our jobs, Trump tells it like it is, working class grievances | Leave a comment