Category Archives: Political Psychology

A White Male Working Class Tantrum

Posted on December 22, 2016 by hessd

There is no question in anyone’s mind, I am sure, that I am talking about the 2016 election season. Not the outcome of the election particularly. I could have made the same argument I am about to make if Hillary … Continue reading →

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Depth in a Superficial Story

Posted on December 8, 2016 by hessd

I want to tell you two stories today. They are related, so I don’t want to put them into separate essays. The first is just personal. It has to do with the transition my mind made from a superficial made-for-TV … Continue reading →

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Read this book

Posted on December 2, 2016 by hessd

Today is the beginning of my blogging year (Blogging Year 2017) [1] and I’d like to start by recommending a book. The book is Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild. … Continue reading →

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Dumbo’s Dilemma

Posted on October 17, 2016 by hessd

OK, let’s talk about Dumbo. Remember? The little elephant with the big ears? A helpful circus mouse (Disney, remember?) points out that if he opened up his giant ears he could fly and thus become a big star. Dumbo, being … Continue reading →

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Jesus supports my political program

Posted on September 7, 2016 by hessd

Today, I feel like Yaskov, the Russian spy in Howard Neame’s 1980 movie, Hopscotch. He says of his opposite number, the American spy, “I do like him, you know. One can’t help it.” The opposite number in Hopscotch is Miles Kendrick, … Continue reading →

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A Failed Conversation at Starbucks

Posted on July 10, 2016 by hessd

I experienced one of the few failures of conversation I have ever had in our Starbucks group last week. I had a position I wanted to sell. It is position the group almost certainly accepts in general, but they didn’t … Continue reading →

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Arguing with Trump voters

Posted on July 5, 2016 by hessd

I’m not recommending it. I’m just thinking about how I would go about it. The argument from self-interest is the best there is in electoral politics. And although we celebrate elected representatives who can sacrifice their own good for the … Continue reading →

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When fathers are teachers

Posted on June 5, 2016 by hessd

I’ve decided this year to celebrate my experiences of being a father. Not all of them deserve to be celebrated, of course. I still regret the time I punished one of my kids for an offense another kid later confessed … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Living My Life, Political Psychology | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Authoritarianism I

Posted on May 23, 2016 by hessd

I really wanted the title “If Authoritarianism is Trump, We Need a New Deal.”  Alas.  It was too long to use. It is a presidential election year in the United States. A Summer Olympics year everywhere else. This year, more … Continue reading →

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Why we want to elect “a strong man”

Posted on March 18, 2016 by hessd

I recently wrote an essay on the theme that Donald Trump, as scary as he is as a candidate, is really only a product of our electoral feelings. The metaphor I used was that Trump is a weed, the plant … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments