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.

David Brooks Has Caused Me All Kinds of Trouble

Posted on January 8, 2012 by hessd

David Brooks has caused me all kinds of trouble.  When I introduce him to people—my students at PSU, usually—who don’t know him, I say he is a conservative columnist for the New York Times.  When my students choose David Brooks … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Politics | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Explaining Matthew’s Advent Story to Children

Posted on December 26, 2011 by hessd

The story of Herod’s anger at having missed his chance to kill the Christ Child has been around for a long time, assuming that the Gospel of Matthew dates from the 80s AD.  In the charged political atmosphere of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Fractured Attention

Posted on December 17, 2011 by hessd

From my standpoint, this looks like a cultural avalanche.  If there is something good about it, it is not yet visible to me. Today, I want to talk about technology and personal presence.  It seems to me that the more … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Paying Attention, Political Psychology, ways of knowing, Words | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Probably Mitt

Posted on December 9, 2011 by hessd

So who are the Republicans going to pick as their presidential nominee?  If I were a betting man (I’m not) and if I put my money where my mouth is (I don’t), I’d say Mitt Romney.  The New York Times … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Matthew’s Story and Really Smart People

Posted on December 5, 2011 by hessd

Nobody ever said that the story of Jesus’s birth was about what you know.  The story is, like everything else in Christianity, about Who you know.[1]  I get that and I’m fine with it.  Mostly.  But the truth is that … Continue reading →

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

Francis Bacon Was Right

Posted on November 28, 2011 by hessd

Some years ago, Robert Reich wrote a telling and prescient book called The Work of Nations.  A little play, I noticed, on Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.  In it, he argued that nearly anything that can be routinized can … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Politics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

All Reasonable Men Will Agree

Posted on November 22, 2011 by hessd

Honestly, it doesn’t seem too much to ask.  I just want to say what I mean and have it taken the way I meant it.  How hard is that? It turns out that it’s pretty hard, sometimes.  There is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Love and Marriage, Political Psychology | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Does God Love Unconditionally?

Posted on November 3, 2011 by hessd

The theological argument I have heard that Christians ought to be unconditionally loving is that God is unconditionally loving.  I’m not sure that’s true.  And if it is true, I think we wouldn’t be able to tell. Today, I am … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Theology | Tagged , | 4 Comments

How Man Looketh

Posted on November 3, 2011 by hessd

My text today is 1 Samuel 16:7a, which, for the purposes of today’s blog, I will render as, “A man looketh on the outward appearance.”  My sense is that men who look only on the outward appearance are probably jerks, … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Movies | Leave a comment

Do We Know Enough to Love?

Posted on October 31, 2011 by hessd

So…is unconditional love a good thing?  Is it possible?  It seems to me that the answers to both questions are going to have to be No, but the exploration of the context of this answer, these answers, will be meandering.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Love and Marriage, Political Psychology, Theology | Tagged | Leave a comment