Category Archives: Political Psychology

No More Buildings Named after YOU

Posted on July 10, 2015 by hessd

When we moved to Portland, we moved into the Wilson High School attendance area.  As a result, I am the proud father of Wilson alums. Wilson is named for President Woodrow Wilson. [1] It’s a thing in Portland. We also … Continue reading →

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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 →

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ISIS and the Republican Party: Brothers in Arms

Posted on May 18, 2015 by hessd

The first scholar of political language I ever ran across was Murray Edelman. From his book, The Symbolic Uses of Politics, I learned that one way to assess the meaning of a political expression is to see how it lines up … Continue reading →

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A Listening Silence

Posted on May 1, 2015 by hessd

I want to think today about how we listen to each other. This is not going to be a lament that we don’t listen to each other any more, but back in the old days, whenever you were a child, … Continue reading →

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Cypher’s Sex Life

Posted on March 25, 2015 by hessd

One of the commonest and most satisfying events of my life is the sudden realization that X is really a lot like Y if you look at it in just the right way.  That happened to me (again) last week … Continue reading →

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There are no “social genes”

Posted on March 15, 2015 by hessd

Well…there are and there aren’t.  If I had seen this title written by someone else, I would have reached into my very large store of “yes, buts” and started replying.  In this particular case, I wrote it myself and I … Continue reading →

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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 →

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President Obama Doesn’t Get It

Posted on November 8, 2014 by hessd

This essay is going to wander into some disreputable places, so let me start with the easy stuff.  First, I’ve been blogging for several years now and I have learned that “President Obama Doesn’t Get It” is a better headline … Continue reading →

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Is Forgiveness a Good Idea?

Posted on October 21, 2014 by hessd

I want to begin with as simple a phrasing as I can.  Things are going to get so messy that I want to have something to look back at, as I would look back at my own innocent youth if … Continue reading →

Posted in Living My Life, Political Psychology, Uncategorized, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

“Commemorating” Vietnam, 50 years later

Posted on October 11, 2014 by hessd

How will we go about commemorating the 50th anniversary of a war from which we have not yet recovered.  I was thinking about the Vietnam War, but it has been 150 years since the American Civil War and there is … Continue reading →

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