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.

Conflict in the Second Temple Period

Posted on August 23, 2015 by hessd

I’ve been listening to some lectures by Professor Isaiah Gafney [1] and I got to a place this morning that raises a broader question for me. Gafney offers a historical perspective on the early years of the Second Temple period … Continue reading →

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

Victim Blaming and Claire McCaskill

Posted on August 22, 2015 by hessd

This is going to look like a reflection about dress codes. It isn’t really. Or, on the other side, about sexual harassment. It isn’t that either. It is an extended plea for an understanding of communication as communication actually happens. … Continue reading →

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

Proud of Who I Am

Posted on August 18, 2015 by hessd

This could provoke a fevered search for “true identity,: I suppose. That’s not what I have in mind. I am thinking of being proud of “who I am—today” as opposed to “who I was—yesterday.” To make this work right, we … Continue reading →

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

Giving One To the Team

Posted on August 14, 2015 by hessd

I want to provide a rationale for paying some attention to how one looks to others. I will want to say there there are some contexts where looking “better” [to be defined soon] is a service people can provide to … Continue reading →

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

It’s Even Worse Than It Looks

Posted on August 13, 2015 by hessd

“We know the Republicans are evil! We’ve known it for years.” That line was not a slip of the tongue, nor was it fortuitously overheard by a passing graduate student. It was a frequently-used assessment by one of the professors … Continue reading →

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

A Parent is a Teacher, not a Concierge

Posted on August 9, 2015 by hessd

I am going to look at that bold title through the lives of Walter Possum and Frances the Badger. Or, rather, through their parents, whom I admire almost more than I can say. These wonderful parents come to us from … Continue reading →

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

Trump: Not So Much a Candidate as a Tantrum

Posted on August 7, 2015 by hessd

I have ranted in one setting or another recently about the movie Inside Out, which nearly everyone has found to be delightful and which no one, myself excepted, has found to be dangerously subversive. Today, I would like to make … Continue reading →

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

Getting Over It

Posted on August 6, 2015 by hessd

Day 1 My version of the truth is that I came to “causal attribution” as a tool for doctoral study for perfectly good academic reasons. [1] Bette thinks I turned to that kind of research because I was a natural … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life, Political Psychology, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Women Who Love Too Much

Posted on August 3, 2015 by hessd

In 1985, Robin Norwood wrote a book called Women Who Love Too Much. My immediate response was, “Oh dear. She’s redefining what love means.” I haven’t read the book, but I still dislike the title. Is it really possible to … Continue reading →

Posted in Love and Marriage, Words | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Inside Out (and Upside Down)

Posted on July 29, 2015 by hessd

“It’s a charming movie. It is also distinctly American.” That’s the assessment of Tanya Luhrmann in the New York Times recently. (See her column here.) I like that way of putting it, because all the things I disliked about the … Continue reading →

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