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.

A Victory for Biblical Scholarship

Posted on May 3, 2017 by hessd

When I think of “going out at the top of our game, I’m not thinking of Kevin Costner’s performance as Billy Chapel, the aging Detroit Tigers pitcher who pitches a perfect game on his last trip to the mound in … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Trashing the West Wing

Posted on April 29, 2017 by hessd

Luke Savage doesn’t much like the West Wing (TWW). Or so I gather from his article in Current Affairs. I’m fine with that. But to criticize a body of work, particularly a very complex work that stretches out over seven … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Now bring on the victory laps

Posted on April 26, 2017 by hessd

When I first began to formulate the metaphor of victory laps in 1977 (much more later), my wife, Donnie, and our children—then 16, 14, and 12—were living in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania on a little circle of houses kept for new … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, Living My Life | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Hollywood opening

Posted on April 25, 2017 by hessd

Saturday, April 22, was my first visit to the Hollywood branch [1] of our library system. [2] It was a spectacularly good experience. Already I feel a reluctance to go back to try to experience it all over again because … Continue reading →

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

Hey wait. There IS another way

Posted on April 24, 2017 by hessd

I love those moments when the familiar options suddenly turn themselves inside out and everything looks instantly different. Daniel J. Levitin gave an amazing example in the New York Times of March 25 (here) and I have been looking for … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Society, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

A Bunny Welcome for Jesus

Posted on April 23, 2017 by hessd

This year, Walmart featured a very upbeat TV ad with the caption, “Easter like you mean it.” It’s about kids running around in a well cared for neighborhood, chasing each other and finding easter eggs while inside the house, the … Continue reading →

Posted in A life of faith, Biblical Studies, Living My Life | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Remembering Dad at Easter

Posted on April 19, 2017 by hessd

My father has been dead for more than thirty years, but every Easter, I remember him as vividly as if we talked just last week. I am going to show you two really ordinary pictures today. They are pictures of … Continue reading →

Posted in A life of faith, Getting Old, Living My Life | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Gifted, the story of “The Continent Uncle”

Posted on April 17, 2017 by hessd

Let’s get the invidious comparisons out of the way right here at the beginning. McKenna Grace is much cuter than Matt Damon has ever been. OK, having said that, Good Will Hunting is a much richer movie than Gifted. Both … Continue reading →

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

Thinking about Chinese dominance

Posted on April 14, 2017 by hessd

I grew up at a very favored time in the U. S. We had fought and won a war against “the Axis powers.” We had a nuclear monopoly in the world. We were the last undamaged economy in the world … Continue reading →

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

North Carolina. First and Last in Flight

Posted on April 11, 2017 by hessd

I was an early fan of the saying, “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste.” When I was young, my mother thought that I mostly wasted mine and I wouldn’t want to argue that she was wrong. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Paying Attention, Uncategorized, Words | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment