Don’t Dissemble

Certain words ring true at particular times in our lives. We might be living through something, or feeling under siege, and you come across a word that elicits that Charlie Brown response from one his infamous sessions with Lucy: “That’s It!!!” he shouts, bowling Lucy over, after she offers her diagnosis to poor ole’ Chuck.

The word this week (and perhaps this month) for me is “dissemble,” as in feigning, concealing, or tamping down one’s true feelings. This is often done for some gain: personal, financial, social. The dissembler might even experience dissonance in the midst of their dissembling. Continue reading

The Meaning of Christmas

In A Charlie Brown Christmas, poor Charlie Brown just can’t get into the spirit of the season. The opening dialogue reveals much about the next 30 minutes, as Charlie tells Linus that he thinks “there must be something wrong with me,” because he can’t get with the program of Christmas.

He then articulates all the things that aren’t right with him and the season.

  • Feelings
  • Lacks understanding about the season
  • Always ends up feeling depressed

Linus embodies friendship, while also demonstrating some tough love. He chides his buddy, “Chuck,” for being “flawed” because of his inability to get into Christmas, and taking a “perfectly wonderful season like Christmas, and turn(ing) it into a problem.” Most people are like Linus—at least those that love the holiday—in that they don’t get those of us that are more like Charlie Brown than Linus and the other Peanuts characters. Continue reading