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The Drama Triangle and Its Use in Political Campaign Narratives

The Drama Triangle, described in Transactional Analysis (TA) by Stephen Karpman, is a psychological model that outlines a recurring pattern people often fall into during conflicts, where they assume one of three roles: the Persecutor, Rescuer, or Victim.

In this "game," each role perpetuates dysfunctional dynamics in relationships. For instance:

Victims may attract Rescuers who want to "save" them, reinforcing the Victim's helplessness.

Rescuers get a sense of purpose or validation by helping, which can enable the Victim's dependence.

Persecutors may assert control or judgment, reinforcing the Victim's sense of oppression or helplessness.

In TA, this dynamic is called a "game" because it’s a repetitive pattern that, on some level, provides a hidden payoff for all participants—often attention, validation, or a sense of control—despite its negative effects.

The Drama Triangle can be applied psychologically in political campaigns, and it is a good example of how this model can explain dynamics far beyond personal relationships.

Political messaging often relies on creating compelling narratives, and the Drama Triangle’s roles—Persecutor, Victim, and Rescuer—can be incredibly effective in rallying support and loyalty from constituents.

For example:

Democratic Campaigns: Democratic messaging often frames certain conservative factions (or specific policies) as Persecutors, marginalized groups as Victims, and Democratic leaders as the Rescuers who will protect these groups from oppression. This narrative aims to evoke empathy and mobilize support by highlighting social justice issues and promising change.

Republican Campaigns: On the other side, Republicans may portray the federal government, progressive ideals, or cultural shifts as Persecutors. The Victims are often cast as traditional communities, working-class individuals harmed by globalization, or families perceived as suffering under changing values or government overreach. The Republican candidate positions themselves as the Rescuer who will restore traditional values, economic stability, or personal freedoms.

Political narratives can, in this sense, use the Drama Triangle to make the audience feel connected to a story where they see themselves or their values represented as Victims in need of a trusted Rescuer. Each party, consciously or not, taps into this emotional and psychological pattern to reinforce their base and frame the "other side" in a certain light. However, this framing can also risk oversimplifying complex issues, pushing people into reactive, divisive roles rather than collaborative problem-solving.

This viewpoint also suggests how valuable it could be for voters to recognize these patterns. It might foster more critical thinking, allowing people to step back and see these strategies as narratives rather than as complete, unquestionable truths.

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NOvember. ive had enough

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Sending love to everyone feeling everything, everywhere, all at once—overwhelmed to the point of numbness and indifference. Sometimes, the world asks too much, and the best thing we can do is protect our peace fiercely. Step back, let go of what drains you, and hold space for what restores you. You deserve the kind of quiet that brings you back to life.

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"Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly."

-Jerry Wise

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"Maybe humans are just savage & cunning beasts wrapped in a cloak of religious/scientific faith."

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''...The fear of appearing to be “racist” or insensitive often makes the media cautious about critiquing certain groups, even when their actions are violent or harmful. This can be seen as an attempt to avoid further stigmatizing historically oppressed groups, but it also risks alienating those who feel that all forms of extremism should be condemned equally, regardless of the identity of the perpetrators. This perception of double standards can create resentment and further reinforce the divide between those who feel their concerns are ignored and those who believe the media is overly protective of certain groups.

In this context, the rise of right-wing movements or candidates can seem inevitable. Many people who feel that their concerns are not being heard by the media or political establishment may be drawn to populist candidates who unapologetically address issues like immigration, cultural identity, or nationalism, which resonate with a broad section of the population. This “backlash” against what is perceived as a liberal or elite-dominated agenda is often framed as a response to the media’s failure to address the complexities of race, identity, and political extremism in a fair and balanced way.

Ultimately, this creates a feedback loop, where certain groups feel emboldened to express their views more openly, while others become disillusioned with the political system and turn to alternatives that promise to restore their values. It also perpetuates a situation where candidates and media outlets alike are forced to navigate a minefield of competing identities, ideologies, and narratives, often resulting in polarized and sometimes contradictory messaging.

This phenomenon reflects a broader frustration with the current political and media landscape, where many feel that there’s a lack of honest, nuanced discussion about difficult issues like race, extremism, and cultural conflict. In this environment, it’s no surprise that candidates who are more willing to confront these issues head-on, even if controversially, can gain significant traction among voters who feel abandoned by the mainstream.''

-ChatGPT on some mainstream media being detached from reality

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''Once an idea is exposed, our brains might see patterns and make connections when encountering that idea elsewhere, making more sense of it than would have been possible at first blush.''

-Anil Ananthaswamy, Why Machines Learn

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''…pressing on the pain side of the balance can lead to its opposite — pleasure. Unlike pressing on the pleasure side, the dopamine that comes from pain is indirect and potentially more enduring. … Pain leads to pleasure by triggering the body’s own regulating homeostatic mechanisms. In this case, the initial pain stimulus is followed by gremlins hopping on the pleasure side of the balance. The pleasure we feel is our body’s natural and reflexive physiological response to pain. Martin Luther’s mortification of the flesh through fasting and self-flagellation may have gotten him a little bit high, even if it was for religious reasons.''

-Anna Lembke, Dopamine Nation

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“Persons with severe addictions are among those contemporary prophets that we ignore to our own demise, for they show us who we truly are.”

-Kent Dunnington

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''The Met presents the paintings as objects to be revered for their aesthetic qualities rather than for their scriptural resonance. That modern, deracinated context brings up the question of how deep a relationship secular viewers can truly have with religious art. Do I see it falsely, emptied of meaning? Is my affection for it irredeemably shallow? The question isn't confined to the visual arts. I adore Josquin's motets, Bach's cantatas and many other cultural products created to serve a sacred purpose but now gorgeously stranded in a secular world. Something is surely lost in that universalising process — modern unbelievers cannot scramble their way back to the spiritual world of an early Renaissance artist or a late baroque Lutheran composer. But maybe something is also gained in abstraction. After all the years and wars and doctrinal conflicts, the psychological intensity and material exquisiteness of the "Maesta" remain as a distillate of religious feeling and a record of human experience.''

-Ariella Budick, 2/3 November 2024 FT Weekend

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Perugia, 21.10.2023

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"These results add to evidence that the brain encodes information not only in the amount of neuronal activity, but that its rhythm and synchronicity also play a crucial role"

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''The French philosopher Blaise Pascal pointed out that “All of humanity’s problems come from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” He didn’t mean sitting quietly in front of a laptop responding to emails. The best thinking comes from structured reflection — and the best way to do that is keeping a personal journal.''

''There’s strong evidence that replaying events in our brain is essential to learning. While the brain records and holds what takes place in the moment, the learning from what one has gone through — that is, determining what is important and what lessons should be learned — happens after the fact during periods of quiet reflection.''

''Also, when we slow things down and reflect, we can be more creative about solving seemingly inscrutable problems. Take, for example, a technique called the “second solution method” that I’ve used in the past. If a group was struggling to come up with options to solve a tough problem, we would brainstorm to identify a list of possible solutions. Before switching to prioritizing, making items specific, etc., we tried to identify all possible options. I found the best approach was to tell the group to take a break and when it reconvened to ask, “What else occurs to you?” Inevitably, this simple question resulted in about 50% more items, often of higher quality. By experimenting, I found that the break that took place between the first and second rounds was more important than the question. A journal is an effective, efficient, private way to take a similar break.''

''Journal entries should provide not only a record of what happened but how we reacted emotionally; writing it down brings a certain clarity that puts things in perspective. In other cases, it’s a form of mental rehearsal to prepare for particularly sensitive issues where there’s no one to talk with but yourself. Journals can also be the best way to think through big-bet decisions and test one’s logic.''

''An entry should begin with the primary outcome — the headline that best captures the major result. Then, list the essential reason for that outcome; an always-subtle root cause made apparent by asking “why?” five times to peel back each layer, revealing what came before. (I remember reviewing my journal once and realized that several big-bet decisions turned on the right question asked at just the right point in the debates. Fortunately, my notes were in enough detail that they showed that the same subordinate asked the right question each time. I started listening to him much more closely). Third, recall the emotions that affected decision making and why they flared. Last, identify what you can learn from the whole experience and what you can do differently next time.''

-Dan Ciampa, July 7, 2017, HBR

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I distrust Great Men. They produce a desert of uniformity around them and often a pool of blood too… I believe in aristocracy, though… Not an aristocracy of power, based upon rank and influence, but an aristocracy of the sensitive, the considerate and the plucky. Its members are to be found in all nations and classes, and all through the ages, and there is a secret understanding between them when they meet. 

E.M Forster on the personal and political power of empaths and the relationship between democracy and creativity

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Versacrum

The Vienna Secession Art Magazine 1898-1903

Gustav Kilmt, Koloman Moser, Otto Wagner, Alfred Roller, Max Kurzwell, Joseph M.Olbrich, Josef Hoffmann

Valerio Terraroli

Skira, Milano 2018, 224 pagine, 28,5x29,5cm, ISBN 978-88-572-3876-0

euro 40,00

email if you want to buy booksinprogressmilano@yahoo.it

This book gathers the covers of Ver Sacrum, the official magazine of the Vienna Secession, which ran from 1898 to 1903. Published for the 120th anniversary of this historic magazine, it reproduces all 120 regular issues―plus some special, limited-edition covers―in 1:1 scale, alongside a selection of block prints, lithographs and copper engravings.

Ver Sacrum (meaning "Sacred Spring" in Latin) was conceived by Gustav Klimt, Max Kurzweil and Ludwig Hevesi. During its six years of activity, 471 original drawings were made specifically for the magazine, along with 55 lithographs and copper engravings and 216 block prints, by artists such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Koloman Moser, Otto Wagner, Max Fabiani, Joseph Maria Olbrich and Josef Hoffmann. Writers such as Rainer Maria Rilke, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Maurice Maeterlinck, Knut Hamsun, Otto Julius Bierbaum, Richard Dehmel, Ricarda Huch, Conrad Ferdinand Meyer and Arno Holz were published in its pages.

Ver Sacrum reveals the tremendous originality of the Jugendstil language, a cornerstone of modernity that elaborated new forms of design, illustration and print/editorial composition.

31/10/24