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.

Gideon in the Land of Oz

Posted on July 5, 2014 by hessd

I know of a distressingly bad senior center called Lakeview. It is losing money; it has already cut costs; the owner is a bully; the doctor is a wimp; the residents live pathetically limited lives.  What they really need is … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, Movies, Paying Attention | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Divergent: What the un-society looks like

Posted on July 5, 2014 by hessd

It is a really good idea to keep an eye on what you are for.  Otherwise, you will make important decisions based only on what you are against.  Ordinarily, that doesn’t work out well.  It doesn’t work out well for … Continue reading →

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The Fault in Our Stars

Posted on June 30, 2014 by hessd

When you are dying of cancer, the question of what, really, is the point of living, becomes pressing.  John Green has written a really good book about that dilemma.  It is called The Fault in Our Stars.[1]  Hazel Grace Lancaster, … Continue reading →

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Stereotyping

Posted on June 28, 2014 by hessd

One of my favorite introductions to a topic comes from Tom Lehrer’s song, “Smut.”  “I do have a cause though,” he says,  “Smut…I’m for it.”  That little ellipsis gives you a chance to imagine why he hates smut so much … Continue reading →

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

The Wild Wild West (Bank)

Posted on June 22, 2014 by hessd

Yesterday, June 20, four Presbyterians at the church’s annual national meeting, voted for divestiture.  Had they not, the church’s motion would have failed again—as it did last year, by two votes—but because they did, it passed this year by seven … Continue reading →

Posted in Paying Attention, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Being “Beautiful”

Posted on June 18, 2014 by hessd

So I’m this old guy with a white beard.  What would I know about being “beautiful”? Quite a bit, actually.  I don’t know how it feels to be beautiful, having…you know…never been, but I do know how it feels to … Continue reading →

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

Peace in All Three Iraqs

Posted on June 16, 2014 by hessd

I don’t know what the Romans called the area that is now—for the next months at least—called Iraq.  Just to make it easy on me, let’s say they called it “Iraq.”  That brings us next door to one of the … Continue reading →

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Only St. Peter Controls the Copier Codes

Posted on June 11, 2014 by hessd

According to Matthew’s account of the transaction, Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven (see Chapter 16).  That’s the good news.  The bad news is that Bowdoin College has disabled the keys given to the Bowdoin Christian … Continue reading →

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Wanting What You Can Have

Posted on June 7, 2014 by hessd

My old friend Tony and I get together at the Cadillac Café every now and then just to keep up on what’s going on.  The last time we were together, he passed on a saying that was current in his … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life, Love and Marriage | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Are the people of Feathertown, Tennessee, Idiotēs?

Posted on June 1, 2014 by hessd

I think so.  I am going to offer some information about Feathertown from Barbara Kingsolver, who invented it and described it in her marvelous novel, Flight Behavior.  She has set a major dilemma in Feathertown: what to do about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Political Psychology, Politics, Sustainability, ways of knowing, Words | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment