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.

Win the Day

Posted on July 1, 2015 by hessd

When Chip Kelly was football coach at the University of Oregon, he was interviewed frequently by sports stations in Portland. He quickly gained a reputation as a terrible “interview,” as the stations put it. They kept asking him question he … Continue reading →

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

The Equally Unlikely Pilgrimage of Maureen Fry

Posted on June 27, 2015 by hessd

The first time I read Rachel Joyce’s marvelous The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I followed Harold’s adventures very carefully. Why is his trip on foot to Berwick-upon-Tweed called “a pilgrimage?” What’s “unlikely” about it. Those seem to me good … Continue reading →

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Being “thin-skinned”

Posted on June 24, 2015 by hessd

At a meeting of the Northwest Corner Caucus recently, a medical friend of mine observed that an “insult” to the skin was so much easier to acquire when the skin had become thin and therefore vulnerable. I looked at him … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, Living My Life, Words | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Premarital Sex and the Rhetoric of the Church

Posted on June 16, 2015 by hessd

Now there’s a title to be proud of. It has a moral category in it. It looks like it has a moral claim in it. It doesn’t but it looks like it. For men of my generation, the expression suggests … Continue reading →

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

Seveneves

Posted on June 14, 2015 by hessd

Neal Stephenson has done it again.  The key word in this essay is going to be “it,” apparently.  There is a cluster of notions swirling around and I am counting on “it” to hold still so I can capture a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Paying Attention | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Being a patient of corporate Persons

Posted on June 11, 2015 by hessd

Every time a new part of my body goes bad—or some previous grievant goes bad in a new way—I get a new kind of doctor. I don’t get rid of the old ones. I like the old ones. I just … Continue reading →

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

Bible “Headlines:” A Complaint

Posted on June 10, 2015 by hessd

  I’m going to approach this whole thing as a conspiracy.  I don’t think it is, except in the sense that all cultures are conspiracies—but I have a rant in mind and calling it a conspiracy will make it easier.  … Continue reading →

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

Investing in Our Future

Posted on May 27, 2015 by hessd

According to our long range plan, Bette and I will trundle ourselves off to a really good senior center by the time I am eighty years old. I met Bette when I was 68, so we’ve been talking about it … Continue reading →

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“Tangerines” is beautiful

Posted on May 25, 2015 by hessd

Ida, the Polish movie that won the Oscar for the best foreign film in 2014, is a more complicated movie, certainly. But Tangerines, nominated in the same year, is every bit as powerful.  Just to give you a sense of … Continue reading →

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God’s Holy Library

Posted on May 20, 2015 by hessd

The Bible is a book made up up books. It is, to say the same thing another way, a compilation. “Bible” points to the unity; compilation to the diversity. I think both notions are valuable and I’d like to think … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment