Category Archives: Uncategorized

Property and Privacy

Posted on February 18, 2013 by hessd

I’ve been thinking about civil liberties.  Civil liberties are the things the government(s) aren’t allowed to do to us.  Being Americans, our minds go right away to freedom of speech and assembly; of guarantees against cruel and unusual punishment and … Continue reading →

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What is God like?

Posted on January 28, 2013 by hessd

This is one of those “Why is the grass green?” kinds of questions.  I do want to try to answer it in the third of the pieces that make up this blog, but I have two prior questions. The first … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Uncategorized, ways of knowing, Words | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How are the prospects for President Obama’s second term in office?  Pretty good, I’d say, all things being considered.  The President is duly aware of what he calls “locusts”—unforeseen events that swarm the political landscape and destroy the prospects for … Continue reading →

Posted on January 21, 2013 by hessd | Leave a comment

Boy-friendly Schools?

Posted on July 11, 2012 by hessd

So let’s talk about accountability and cooperativeness.  They’re good, right?  So if you built a set of institutions to teach little boys and little girls to be accountable and cooperative, that would be a step in the right direction. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

I Want a Second Opinion

Posted on March 20, 2012 by hessd

The story goes that a mentally unstable and unattractive woman was seeing a psychiatrist.  She had been seeing him for awhile and no diagnosis of her difficulties was forthcoming.  “Well,” the shrink said, when pressed, “You’re crazy.”  “I demand a … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology, Uncategorized, ways of knowing | 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 →

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Federer Plays Erikson, Round 2

Posted on September 2, 2011 by hessd

I’ve been using Roger Federer’s progress through the U. S. Open to pursue my idea that Erik Erikson’s famous set of developmental stages can be thought of as a tournament in some ways.  To compensate for the fact that there … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Welcome, friends

Posted on August 2, 2011 by hessd

This isn’t a dazzlingly simple puzzle like the one Gandalf faced.  He thought he was confronted by a sign that said, “Speak, friend, and enter.”  No incantation in his capacious memory opened the doors.  What it actually said was, “Speak … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

And how are we feeling today?

Posted on July 18, 2011 by hessd

The question I want to ask today is this: “How do you know how you are feeling?” But as I was thinking about it, a scene came to mind. I don’t know what it’s a scene from. Maybe the scene … Continue reading →

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Learning from Mistakes

Posted on July 9, 2011 by hessd

Learning is always a good idea, but I’m not sure we learn more from our mistakes than we do from our successes.  I think it might be better to say that we learn different things. During the terms I teach … Continue reading →

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