Author Archives: hessd

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About hessd

Here is all you need to know to follow this blog. I am an old man and I love to think about why we say the things we do. I've taught at the elementary, secondary, collegiate, and doctoral levels. I don't think one is easier than another. They are hard in different ways. I have taught political science for a long time and have practiced politics in and around the Oregon Legislature. I don't think one is easier than another. They are hard in different ways. You'll be seeing a lot about my favorite topics here. There will be religious reflections (I'm a Christian) and political reflections (I'm a Democrat) and a good deal of whimsy. I'm a dilettante.

And don’t forget to put the milk in the icebox

Posted on October 25, 2017 by hessd

One of my favorite slogans is “Rising Above Decline” I first ran into it in a study of what to do with excess school space in Boston and they meant simply that the school age population was decreasing, so the … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“We don’t get no respect!”

Posted on October 22, 2017 by hessd

Martin E. P. Seligman surprised a lot of people when he predicted the standings in the next year’s baseball season from a content analysis of comments made by the management and the players about the season just finished. Like me, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Political Psychology, Sustainability, ways of knowing, Words | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Halloween

Posted on October 20, 2017 by hessd

I just don’t get Halloween. Not as a big deal celebration. I get a few things. I get the language underpinning of it. I know, for instance, that the -een of Halloween is properly “e’en.” In the Scottish version of … Continue reading →

Posted in A life of faith, Living My Life, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Stronger. Also wiser.

Posted on October 17, 2017 by hessd

In Stronger, Jeff Bauman, played superbly by Jake Gyllenhaal, learns a really hard lesson. It isn’t all that easy to say what it is, but at the very core, it involves being willing to be who people need for you … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is “the good doctor” candid?

Posted on October 14, 2017 by hessd

You can ask questions so that they are easy or so that they are hard. This one seems hard to me. [1] The doctor—the titular doctor in the new ABC series, The Good Doctor—is a very young man. Also autistic. … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Society, Sustainability, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ebb Tide

Posted on October 12, 2017 by hessd

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life, Society | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Jesus and Nicodemus in The Matrix

Posted on October 3, 2017 by hessd

The question of what kind of life is worth living is addressed in compatible and complementary ways by the Gospel of John and by the Wachowski brothers movie, The Matrix.[1] John’s account of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus is … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Movies | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Albert Peterson’s Dilemma

Posted on September 28, 2017 by hessd

I want to introduce to you today a fictional businessman, Albert Peterson. [1] Peterson is a good guy in a bad situation. Peterson is the head of Personnel for a U. S. manufacturing firm, engaged in vicious competition with other … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Society, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Star Spangled Banner as a Commons

Posted on September 25, 2017 by hessd

ill you all rise, please, and join us in the singing our our national anthem?” It doesn’t sound all that hard, does it? But, as everyone knows by now, it can be made extremely difficult and we have done that. … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life, Sustainability | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

I know, but he’s OUR dotard

Posted on September 25, 2017 by hessd

I didn’t hear President Trump give this speech. I have a lot of trouble seeing him and hearing him. My dentist said just a small amount of nitrous oxide would help solve that problem, but he wasn’t allowed to give … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment