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.

Terrified of Muslims: A Liberal Rant

Posted on November 28, 2015 by hessd

My son Dan posted a piece by Andy McClure on Facebook. I think it originally appeared on http://www.dailykos.com, but it got so popular so fast that I’m not really sure. Like a lot of ideological rants, it is really funny … Continue reading →

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Is the U. S. “anti-immigrant?”

Posted on November 26, 2015 by hessd

Not exactly. But “anti-immigrant” is just a political spitball. It is not intended to and it does not, in fact, help anyone understand what is at stake here. Let me start with the passage that helped me start thinking about … Continue reading →

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

Jonathan Haidt’s “Inner Lawyer”

Posted on November 24, 2015 by hessd

Jonathan Haidt offers the third illustration in the clutch of three we are examining. All three involve two functions—actively suppressing information and not receiving the information—but it gets complicated because I am the person who plays both parts. I hide … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Theology, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Sincerely Heretical

Posted on November 22, 2015 by hessd

This is “When I lie to myself, I don’t believe me, Part 2”  It is the second of a series of three essays which, I maintain, are about the same issue. Maybe they are and maybe they aren’t, but the … Continue reading →

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When I lie to myself, I don’t believe me

Posted on November 19, 2015 by hessd

The title I have chosen is the good scenario. There are scenarios that are not as good and the next several essays will be about those. What are those other, worse, scenarios? The first and most basic has to do … Continue reading →

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Two Professors in Narnia

Posted on November 14, 2015 by hessd

There are two. In the seven volumes of the Chronicles of Narnia, there are two professors.  They are both good guys. [1]  They appear in the first two books about Narnia, C. S. Lewis’s “Middle Earth,” and then not again … Continue reading →

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Chewing Raw Fish

Posted on November 11, 2015 by hessd

I want to think a little about “particularization” today. I got this idea from a not very good book by Snell and Gail Putney. It is The Adjusted American: Normal Neuroses in the Individual and Society. [1] Here is what … Continue reading →

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Why do Matthew and Luke have infancy narratives?

Posted on October 31, 2015 by hessd

The consensus among biblical scholars is that both Matthew and Luke had copies of Mark before them when they composed their own gospels. Mark starts his account with the baptism of Jesus. Matthew and Luke apparently looked at this way … Continue reading →

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Plainsong

Posted on October 30, 2015 by hessd

Tucked into Kent Haruf’s novel, Plainsong, is a small and powerful plot. Haruf’s writing is lovely throughout this small story, but a lot of what he writes could be described as “what it is like to live in Holt County, … Continue reading →

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Bridge of Spies

Posted on October 21, 2015 by hessd

I will establish, in what I am about to say, that I am a movie illiterate. Would that be an invidiot? I like movies a lot, but I have no training and so, no depth of understanding. However. I would … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments