Tag Archives: truth

A Bulwark of Democracy

Posted on April 1, 2026 by hessd

I don’t often see “existential” in a political column, so the paragraph below caught my eye. The precariousness of the Democrats’ position in the coming decade hit home for me after reading “The 2026 Midterms Are Critical. But 2032 Could … Continue reading →

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But First It Will Piss You Off

Posted on December 7, 2021 by hessd

Using emotionally powerful language for your own purposes is a time-honored practice. Especially for humor. Humor sets one meaning against another in a playful context [1] and one of the meanings may be an allusion to a well-known phrase. I … Continue reading →

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Thou shalt not share false witness

Posted on January 12, 2019 by hessd

It looks just a little odd, doesn’t it? And yet, you know exactly what I am referring to. The language of the 8th commandment (by at least one ordering of the commandments) reads “bear false witness” and “share false witness” … Continue reading →

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Politics is the least of our worries

Posted on March 16, 2018 by hessd

I argued two years ago this month, that as scary as the Trump candidacy was, the conditions that made it possible for such a candidate to be successful were much scarier.  I still think that’s true and since then, Trump, … Continue reading →

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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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What does “moral fact” mean?

Posted on March 6, 2015 by hessd

One of the great advantages of writing a blog is that you get to decide what the title of a blog is. That is a luxury not shared by people who publish in newspapers, so I don’t really know who … Continue reading →

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The Gospel According to Gupta

Posted on October 23, 2012 by hessd

The question that has been on my mind for the last several weeks is this: “What do we mean when we say that a story is true?”  Is it just an old-fashioned way of saying that it is accurate?  I … Continue reading →

Posted in Biblical Studies, Movies, ways of knowing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Narrative Seduction

Posted on May 6, 2012 by hessd

If you think carefully about the experiences you have and how fully you can trust them, this might be a difficult essay for you.  I already know it is going to be difficult for me. Let’s start with some conventional … Continue reading →

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