Category Archives: Political Psychology

Winning the heart and minds

Posted on May 26, 2017 by hessd

On March 12, 2014, I argued that President Obama needed to apologize to the American people for something. It didn’t matter what, I said, so long as it was something “the people” were offended about. The state of the economy … Continue reading →

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

Trashing the West Wing

Posted on April 29, 2017 by hessd

Luke Savage doesn’t much like the West Wing (TWW). Or so I gather from his article in Current Affairs. I’m fine with that. But to criticize a body of work, particularly a very complex work that stretches out over seven … Continue reading →

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Hey wait. There IS another way

Posted on April 24, 2017 by hessd

I love those moments when the familiar options suddenly turn themselves inside out and everything looks instantly different. Daniel J. Levitin gave an amazing example in the New York Times of March 25 (here) and I have been looking for … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Society, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

James the Presbyter at Princeton

Posted on April 7, 2017 by hessd

I have been paying a good deal of attention to the recent goings-on at Princeton Theological Seminary for one reason or another. The issues themselves are small potatoes, it seems to me; in comparison to the reasons people have given … Continue reading →

Posted in A life of faith, Biblical Studies, Political Psychology, Politics, Theology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s only natural

Posted on March 10, 2017 by hessd

“It’s only natural” seems like an easy thing to say. I hear it a lot. Most of the time I attend only to what it does–it excuses things– rather than what it means.  Today, thanks to a comment by Scarlett … Continue reading →

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How not to save civil society

Posted on March 1, 2017 by hessd

I am going to urge you to take a look at Paul Krugman’s column in today’s New York Times. I don’t like it and I very much hope that you won’t like it either, but let’s start by reading it. … Continue reading →

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Deviance Amplification

Posted on February 14, 2017 by hessd

I wrote a piece on the word “racism” a few years ago. The first line was, “Am I a racist? No. I am not.”[1] Quite a flourish, I thought, for an essay that was going to propose a more modest … Continue reading →

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Narcissist-in-Chief

Posted on January 30, 2017 by hessd

Imagine a man [1] who is a father, an employer, and a mayor. Oh…and he is a narcissist. What does that personal condition [2] imply for the three roles I mentioned? Let’s start at the other end of the question. … Continue reading →

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Did Jesus pick fights he could have avoided?

Posted on January 24, 2017 by hessd

I think so. Let me review three instances where I see that happening and then I’ll come back so we can revisit the question together. The three concern: a) Jesus’s healing of a paralyzed man, b) his partying with sinners, … Continue reading →

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It’s our story and I’m sticking to it.

Posted on December 30, 2016 by hessd

Everybody knows the line, “That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.” I discovered today that it comes from a Saturday Night Live regular I had never heard of—Kevin Quinn. I haven’t messed with it much in producing the title … Continue reading →

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