November 2019 - Assertive Spirituality

Couple in conflict--presumably over politics and holidays

Surviving the Holidays in this Religio-Political Landscape

November 23, 2019 DS Leiter Comments 2 comments

So…yeah. Here in the US, we’re heading into the holiday season just now in the middle of another fraught election season. That means the words “politics and holidays” are floating around in many anxiety dreams for those dealing with questions of how to deal with the major political divides in the context of holiday gatherings. Well, if this is you or if you know someone with this dilemma, here’s the article for you. The Options for Handling Gatherings with Religio-Political…

Why None of Us Can Be “Perfectly Woke” or Safe

November 9, 2019 DS Leiter Comments 1 comment

Well, friends, we’re here. Friday was the 3rd anniversary of the 2016 election. And everywhere I look I see the signs that we’re all pretty tired. And as I said a couple of weeks ago, one of the phenomena that pops up when we’re all as exhausted as we are (for good reason) is the “eating one’s own” phenomenon, especially within what’s often referred to as “call out culture.” Often this phenomena comes out in expectations of perfection that each…

When “Christian Nice” Gets Mean about Holidays (The Roots of War on Christmas Rhetoric)

November 3, 2019 DS Leiter Comments 3 comments

‘Tis the season for Christmas-celebrants to act put upon about saying “Happy Holidays.” The War on Christmas season may have unfortunately already begun without our notice. In this blog post I plan to analyze the unhealthy aspects of “War on Christmas” rhetoric and its more insidious if milder cousin “Reason for the Season” rhetoric, especially the zero-sum view of the world it promotes and the way it promotes us/them Viking/victim thinking that has laid the groundwork for acceptance of other…

Assertive Spirituality

Because Sometimes We Stay Lost if We Stay Quiet

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Month: November 2019