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.

Gladly Teach and Gladly Learn

Posted on February 26, 2015 by hessd

Let’s say you are young and idealistic and haven’t been married even once. Please accept my sincere congratulations and condolences. You have emotional heights before you that I can remember only with disciplined memory. A dark and quiet room would … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, Love and Marriage, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Jesus and the Lost Velociraptor

Posted on February 21, 2015 by hessd

Here is a satirical picture that my son Dan passed along to me. I think it is laugh-out-loud funny. He and I enjoyed it together. I call it “satire.” What is satire? From a collection of similar definitions in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, Society | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Starbucks and the balanced diet

Posted on February 8, 2015 by hessd

This isn’t really about food.  It’s about conversation.  I will want to use the balanced food diet as a metaphor to help me explore the balanced conversational diet. Here is the protein bistro box, which is my normal Starbucks breakfast.  … Continue reading →

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

Repent! No, not you.

Posted on January 31, 2015 by hessd

Let’s think about “repentance” a little bit. My thesis is going to be that it is a really good idea sometimes and a really bad idea sometimes. The Greek verb normally translated “repent” is metanoein, which can be narrowly translated … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Living My Life | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Selma

Posted on January 20, 2015 by hessd

Selma has been nominated for an Academy Award as the best film of the year. One of the things that means is that it is going to get talked about a lot. Since it is about race relations in the … Continue reading →

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

My teammates are not offended

Posted on January 18, 2015 by hessd

I was taken, recently, with the premise of the movie, Surrogates. I liked the premise so much that I tried really hard to like the movie. I failed, but I still like the premise so I am going to make … Continue reading →

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

Obamacare and “Death Panels”

Posted on January 11, 2015 by hessd

This is a question that has gotten a lot more attention than it deserves.  Let’s take a look at it.  A “death panel” would have to be a number of people (panel) that is empowered to take an action or … Continue reading →

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

Walking Gladly in the Dark

Posted on January 7, 2015 by hessd

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied:“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand … Continue reading →

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

When you can’t go any further, you know where you are

Posted on January 3, 2015 by hessd

I went to the University of Oregon to begin my doctoral work in 1970.  I knew that they didn’t give doctorates out for really good essays on what I did last summer vacation.  I knew it would require original scholarly … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

2014 in review

Posted on December 30, 2014 by hessd

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,800 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment