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Category: US Politics

a dictionary definition of propaganda to ground an analysis of anti-DEI banned words lists
When Politicians Don’t Seem to Know How Words Work

When Politicians Don’t Seem to Know How Words Work

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Okay, so there’s been a lot going on lately, so it’s entirely possible you’ve missed this particular item being communicated from our vitally important alt governmental folks. Apparently, as part of the recent initiatives to “freeze DEI activity” across different kinds of academic research, including medical research, there’s a list of specific words they’re looking for in order to “find DEI research.” Since then, the same list of words have been circulating to make sure no one uses them in…

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Image of two people holding signs saying "use your voice" and "do your part" to introduce a blog post encouraging reasonable people to avoid cynicism and hopelessness
Why Cynicism Isn’t Helpful (Even Now)

Why Cynicism Isn’t Helpful (Even Now)

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For the last few weeks, this one scene from the Lord of the Rings movies keeps playing through my head. Gandalf has gone down with the Balrog. The remainder of the Fellowship of the Ring has run like crazy and escaped the orcs and other beasties swarming them out into the grass on the mountainside. When they get there, the hobbits collapse. Some of the party go around to try to get them up, when one of the party resists…

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Immigrants standing behind a flag to introduce a blog post on how right-wing immigration rhetoric is fascistic and harmful
When the Right Blames Everything on Immigrants (and Others)

When the Right Blames Everything on Immigrants (and Others)

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While right-wing rhetoric has been ramping up the anti-immigrant fascistic rhetoric since the beginning of the 2016 election, it feels like the recent 2024 vice presidential debate really made it clear that the right has moved to blaming immigrants (and the Democrats and anyone else they don’t like) for nearly everything these days. The suggestions to deport and punish anyone they don’t like have ramped up as well. This should be deeply concerning, both because it’s having actual negative effects…

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An image of a woman silenced with the words For Our Daughters introducing a piece on why Christian nationalism is unhealthy and we should speak out against it.
Why This Page Speaks Out on Politics: For Our Daughters (and Others)

Why This Page Speaks Out on Politics: For Our Daughters (and Others)

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Every so often, there will be someone who comments on the AS Facebook page—usually not someone there in good faith, as it turns out—why is a page about spirituality posting about politics? The short version of the answer to this question is that this page was set up to call people to be assertive about unhealthy versions of spirituality, including Christian nationalism, which has gone fully political. I plan to use this post to unwrap this and other aspects of…

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A pair of converse shoes to introduce an article about the demonization of the politics of joy
When Conservative Christians Demonize the Politics of Joy

When Conservative Christians Demonize the Politics of Joy

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Not that long ago, I saw a right-leaning acquaintance say on social media that “Joy should come from God, not from politics.” With the childhood alarm bells ringing in my ears, I immediately saw how much there was to unpack in that statement, so here I am writing about what happens when conservative Christians demonize the politics of joy. My Background and Standpoint As always, I’m coming at this as a former pastor’s kid who grew up to become a…

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"New Normal This Way" sign to introduce an article on fighting fascism by decentering weird (bigotry)
Decentering Weird to Fight Fascism

Decentering Weird to Fight Fascism

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If you hadn’t heard, a big thing with Democratic rhetoric lately has been calling right-wing behaviors “ weird .“  I’ve heard some confusion and critique of this, so in this blog post I hope to unwrap why this technique is so effective for fighting fascistic rhetoric and actions. My Background and Standpoint As always, I’m coming at this as a former pastor’s kid who went on to become a communication scholar whose work focuses on stress, trauma, and conflict communication….

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An image representing inclusivity to introduce an article about how right-leaning Christians demonize it.
How Right-Leaning Christians Demonize Inclusivity

How Right-Leaning Christians Demonize Inclusivity

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It’s been quite the wild ride lately in political rhetoric. With the politics of hope and joy birthing anew with the Democratic ticket, Biden having stepped aside, it might be easy to think that surely most if not all the right-leaning folks might just see reason and join the other side. Lest we grow complacent, though, I wanted to use this blog post to unwrap some theological maneuvers that help us all understand how the unhealthy folks manage to maintain…

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An image of paper balls over a head to introduce an article on mental health accusations from the right-wing and how they pathologize reasonable people
When the Right Tries to Pathologize Reasonable People

When the Right Tries to Pathologize Reasonable People

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It wasn’t that long ago that someone accused Assertive Spirituality, once again, of having “TDS”—you know, “Tr*mp Derangement Syndrome.” And every time we post in support of trans folks, some right-wing troll seems to pop up to argue that trans people and those who support them are “sick in the head.” (For the record, both things are ridiculous in the ways I’m about to outline.) In this week’s blog post I plan to unwrap a few of the layers of…

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Picture of the term "demagogue" unwrapped to introduce an article on the rhetorical techniques of a "strongman" to demoralize reasonable folks
When a Strongman Tries to Demoralize Reasonable Folks

When a Strongman Tries to Demoralize Reasonable Folks

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So if you’re a reasonable person, you’re likely feeling a little—or a lot—down just now. I’m here to unwrap for you enough of the context behind why that’s happening, specifically how a particular–ahem–right-wing fascistic strongman has been working to try to make their opponents seem immoral and weak—to hopefully give you some oomph to get back up off that mat and keep working toward a healthier world for us all. And let’s be clear—I first wanted to write this post…

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A rainbow over a church (photo by DS Leiter) introduces an article on white Evangelical culture war attempts to control the meaning of the rainbow.
White Evangelicals, the Culture Wars, and the Rainbow as a Battleground

White Evangelicals, the Culture Wars, and the Rainbow as a Battleground

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Shortly before Pride Month started, I was driving across the wide open in the Midwest, watching the stormy skies in one quadrant of the view carefully, only to find what I was hoping for—a complete double rainbow. As I came to a stop to soak it in and take pictures, I had to laugh a bit when I noticed the bow stretched over—you guessed it—one of those “seeker-friendly” white Evangelical churches. This got me thinking a lot, naturally, about the…

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An image of a bear lying on a log to introduce an article about man vs. bear and the privileges of safety
Man vs. Bear and the Privileges of Safety

Man vs. Bear and the Privileges of Safety

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I’ve been thinking a lot about the privileges of safety since this whole social media question started making the rounds on social media. You know, the one about whether you’d rather meet a man or a bear or whatever other variation in the woods (if you haven’t heard, many women when offered this question have been enthusiastically choosing the bear, and explaining their experiences and reasons for this). It makes sense that I’d been thinking about this, because the very…

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A trans rights are human rights flag to introduce how anti-trans rhetoric plays on men's fears about " mutilation "
When Anti-Trans Rhetoric Plays on (Men’s) Fears about “ Mutilation ”

When Anti-Trans Rhetoric Plays on (Men’s) Fears about “ Mutilation ”

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Something I’ve been noticing a lot lately when trolls come in with anti-trans rhetoric is HOW MUCH the word “ mutilation “ comes up. Mostly this comes up with male right-wing trolls commenting on trans concerns, but I even saw a woman who identified as (conservative) Christian recently try to say that the Bible was against “ mutilation “ clearly suggesting that gender-alteration surgeries to help people feel more like themselves were somehow morally not okay. As you’ll see if…

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An image of a young white couple praying in front of a US flag to introduce an article about how conservative Christians downplay Christian nationalism
When Conservative Christians Downplay Christian Nationalism

When Conservative Christians Downplay Christian Nationalism

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This week I saw a Facebook post from an educated right-leaning man that completely downplayed the dangers of Christian nationalism, so I’ve decided to unwrap and respond to that post in this blog post. Hopefully by the end we can all get closer to agreeing on why it’s so important to continue to stand up against the very real dangers of Christian nationalism that has already been resulting in the trauma and deaths of actual human beings. Before diving in…

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A picture of a clergyman officiating a wedding to introduce an article on clergy abuse and the halo effect
The Halo Effect and Clergy Sexual Abuse

The Halo Effect and Clergy Sexual Abuse

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So I’ve regularly taught about the halo effect in my interpersonal communication class, and it recently occurred to me that this concept helps unwrap a lot of the nuances around why clergy too often get away with sexual abuse and other abuses of power. This may seem obvious at first, but when I started to think about it it got a lot deeper than I thought it did. So stick with me as I begin to unwrap this topic and…

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Fascistic Christian Nationalism as a GOP Platform?

Fascistic Christian Nationalism as a GOP Platform?

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One of the key reasons I founded this Assertive Spirituality project was the disturbing turn of the Republicans, in the 2016 election and beyond, toward embracing the ideals of fascistic Christian nationalism as their party platform. I believe the evidence of this ought to seem disturbing—it very much is a threat to healthy democracy in the US. It can also easily be confusing, though, so in this article I plan to unwrap how some of this rhetoric works, and why…

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