Political Pendulum Issues in the US
Are You Getting Whiplash From the Crazy Political Swings?
We all know that every 4 or 8 years the United States goes back and forth between Republican and Democrat. That swing has been changing since Trump was elected for the first time, because there is a difference between the MAGA party (focusing on the US first, and world stage much later) and older neoconservative party (focusing on how the US relates to the world stage first).
As neoconservatism is described on Wikipedia, it is “a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and counterculture of the 1960s. Neoconservatives typically advocate the unilateral promotion of democracy and interventionism in international relations together with a militaristic and realist philosophy of ‘peace through strength’. They are known for espousing opposition to communism and radical politics.”
I will use that definition so we’re on the same page. It’s a stark contrast to the idea of putting “America First” as Trump or other MAGA believers declare it. They are both saying that they want peace for the US and oppose communism. But according to Wikipedia (and I agree for the most part), “America First refers to a populist political theory in the United States that emphasizes the fundamental notion of "putting America first", which generally involves disregarding global affairs and focusing solely on domestic policy in the United States. This generally denotes policies of non-interventionism, American nationalism, and protectionist trade policy.”
Trying to “save the world” is a “rescuer” role that neo-cons and democrats share. I have two past articles on this topic that might be good to read if you’re new (or want a refresher). The first is, Contrary to Popular Belief, Narcissists Don't Love Themselves: And focusing on caring for the self FIRST is beneficial, but narcissists don't. In that one I discuss why taking care of yourself first is needed, and it’s really the only sane way to go. Neo-cons are likely narcissists if they think the US is better than other countries and we need to change what everyone else does to be more like us, or we need to “Rescue” them, etc. That is a prideful position.
The second article is Saviors Take The Weight of the World On Their Shoulders: Taking responsibility that isn't rightfully yours will make you exhausted. Neo-cons would tire the US out trying to “save the world” through US governmental actions. You cannot thrive when you spend all your time freaking out about the state of the whole world. We were not really meant to do that as humans.
The horseshoe theory posits that the far-left and far-right are closer together rather than being on opposite ends of a linear spectrum. The far-left and far-right today could be said to have authoritarian tendencies, in that they want to control what goes on in other people and other countries. Many on the far-left are environmentalists who worry about “climate change” and believe it to be an existential threat.
People tend to be one-dimensional thinkers when it comes to describing the political spectrum. They think about a line, whether curved or not.
This graphic from
is useful. But it’s still linear.
Dr.
made a video because of the COVID over-reactions of a different perspective which I think works better for my purposes. In it, he talks about the Nolan Chart. Someone on the far left would be very low on economic freedom (which shoots to the right horizontally), but would be very high on personal freedom (being able to marry whomever, allow so-called “transgender” surgeries on children, etc.)So, the left side of the chart favors more government involvement in economic matters but places importance on personal freedoms, while the right favors less government involvement in the economy but typically emphasizes more traditional views on social issues, which might limit some personal freedoms.
This is a two-dimensional representation. So at the bottom you can be more authoritarian, or at the top you can be more libertarian. There are some left libertarians who think there should be no age of consent or immigration laws (which is mind-blowing to me, no matter how libertarian I tend to be because that shows a lack of good, moral boundary enforcement).
And I would believe that a neo-con on the “right” would be more authoritarian than someone who calls themself MAGA. The MAGA movement really took off with COVID, but oddly enough that issue causes many of them to disagree with Trump on Operation Warp Speed (and vaccines in general).
Many Democrats who felt as if they had nothing in common with those on the “right” politically suddenly found themselves on the same (libertarian) side because they were prioritizing libertarian views (that we not be forced to lockdown, shut down businesses, wear masks and get vaccines). Many Democrats and more Big Pharma Republicans found themselves on the same authoritarian side.
I had to come up with the term “Big Pharma Republicans”, but somehow Trump is an odd ball here. He is pro Big Pharma in some respects, but still believes they shouldn’t be mandatory, so I don’t think that category really includes him.
But there are Republicans who view vaccines as our “saviors” and don’t like the idea of going against Big Pharma interests. This is one of those critical issues that makes it so Trump’s “fans” are not viewing him as an all good “savior” [as opposed to those who view him as an all-evil “persecutor”]. They just tend to agree with the things they agree with, and disagree with Trump about other things that matter to them, like human beings used to do, before the hyper-politization of everything.
What’s Up With That Hyper Politization?
The Reverse Drama Triangle or the Drama Triangle Mirror
I wrote about a phenomenon that happens in past articles, referring to it either as a reverse Drama Triangle, or a mirror. The following image is from my article, Donald Trump & His Calls For Protest: Left & Right Mirrors of the Drama Triangle. In it, you can see that one drama triangle seems to be mirrored (or reversed) with its “persecutor”. Both sides think they are the true victims and the other side is a persecutor.
The majority of the politically-engaged “right” and “left” view each other as persecutors and themselves as victims because they are one-dimensional thinkers who can only perceive their environment through the Drama Triangle lens. If someone won’t play “victim” for them, they will automatically turn that person into a “persecutor” because it’s black or white to them. They cannot see nuance. They never take their Drama Triangle glasses off.
Note: I don’t believe everyone who claims a political party is necessarily politically-engaged in this way. Some people may see themselves as a Republican or Democrat, but if they have a fulfilling life outside of politics and don’t think of it day in and day out, I wouldn’t consider them to be “politically engaged.”
Most of the political social media creators and viewers are “politically engaged.” But each one of those people is an individual and may be more or less personally responsible, and thus more or less likely to see themselves or others in Drama Triangle roles.
We may all have certain topics that spark a feeling of “victimhood.” There is so much nuance here and I think, if there are any people outside of the Drama Triangle 100%, it’s a very miniscule amount. Some days and some topics are better than others.
Although I know that believing chemtrails are unhealthy makes me upset, I have not worked on changing that belief, and I wrote about my beliefs on that the other day.
If you look at that article about being offended, you’ll notice a graph similar to the one below. This is not meant to be a graph based on data, but this is how I conceptualize this pattern of behavior.
Some people always seem to view the world through the Drama Triangle lens and they are always looking for a persecutor to blame. Those people would be on the far right of this “Triangulation Propensity” graph.
Others may be mildly likely to blame others rather than take personal responsibility and they may be in the middle somewhere. Still others might be very personally responsible, and very unlikely to blame someone else for their problems. Those people would be on the left of this graph.
I have been honest on this Substack about sometimes falling into old habits of feeling like a victim and seeing others as persecutors. I’m pretty aware of it, and question my beliefs to help extricate myself from that 1-dimensional view of a situation. I don’t tend to look for persecutors or fall into a victim mentality nearly as much as others, so I think I would be pretty far on the left somewhere.
When I talk about political radicalization, what I mean is the difference between a moderate (who can listen to a lot of viewpoints from others who disagree with them), versus someone who is “Far-left” or “Far-right” who will not listen to any disagreement in an honest way. Those sorts will get themselves into echo chambers because they can’t stand the “others” who don’t get what is so plain to them.
Note: If you think you know this far-right or -left person who will argue with others (outside of an echo chamber), I want you to know that that person hasn’t really left the echo chamber of their mind. Those sorts are not listening to understand, they’re just saying what they believe in order to convince others (that’s a pointless savior/rescuer move).
If you are on the far-right of my graph (with a high propensity to see things through a Drama Triangle lens), you will become a 1-dimensional thinker. Those on the left (of the graph) are able to listen to multiple perspectives and not see things in black & white. They don’t engage in splitting as often as those high-triangulation propensity do.
Opposites Attract?
I also write about the Law of Attraction which is usually minimized down to “like attracts like” which goes against the theory that opposites attract. So I wrote a bit about that. If you’re interested, see that article: Do Opposites Really Attract?
I want you to look back at the graph above with this in mind, a politically far-right person and a politically far-left person can be at the exact same point on that line. Are they opposites or exactly alike?
They’ve got the same “frequency” (to use a new-age term). They mirror each other, but they’re on the same wavelength as each other when we consider whether or not they have a triangulation propensity.
Because living in the Drama Triangle (seeing everything through that lens) requires you to give up personal responsibility, it also means you feel internally powerless. So people who have a high triangulation propensity will feel very powerless. Inversely, those who focus on taking personal responsibility will feel very powerful and in control of their lives.
The political radicals are those who feel powerless and have a high triangulation propensity. Because of the radicalization they are two sides of the same magnet, which means they attract others like themselves (albeit their mirror image, to fight with or to learn from). Note: They usually never learn from their mirror image, this is why projection is at an all time high! But God/the universe is giving them an option to learn here.
Stop Attracting Them
If you want to stop attracting these people you have to stop being like them. That means you have to give up your triangulation propensity. This involves actually wanting to see things from multiple perspectives. It means listening to people who disagree with you to gain insights. If you’re not gaining insights, it’s not worth listening to that person, move on to someone else. Remember, that should be a knowledge collection mission, not an evangelism mission. You can’t change other people’s minds (and stop trying to be a rescuer).
The mission would be to see how other people view the things that you view as a “persecutor.” Some people will be wrong, because they’re not sane. But find the sane ones who just disagree with you and check those people out. You don’t have to agree, but opening your mind helps you to stop being a one-dimensional thinker (stuck in an echo chamber).
You can do “shadow work” as well. The more you heal your emotional wounds, the less likely you are to blame others. The following is an article I wrote on my other Substack. If you are a paid Drama Triangle supporter, just message me to get a complimentary paid sub to that one as well.
Why is the Pendulum Swinging Farther?
I know you’ve noticed it. In the United States we are swinging from the political left to the political right farther, and, perhaps, even faster since Trump didn’t get to complete a continuous 8 years. I don’t know what will happen when Trump leaves office. But there is a possibility that in 4 years we will have a Democrat president again.
Background
In the past the federal government did not have as much power as it does now. It didn’t matter that much who became the president because there were checks and balances. At some point something happened that they started to have much more influence on our day-to-day lives. The United States of America was never meant to be like that. They fought against being ruled by powers far away. They wanted more local governance. But I digress…
Indoctrination
As people look to their political representatives as a “Rescuer” or “Savior”, they fall into a feeling of powerlessness when their party/representatives are not elected and in power. People did not use to focus so intently on their representative getting in. Part of this, could be social media (See Getting Siloed into Parallel Realities for more info).
But I think a lot of it is because our schools got infected and started to perform reverse CBT. I’ve studied Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and it’s helped me so much, including helping me to learn more about the Drama Triangle. There was discussion on cognitive distortions, some of which are splitting and catastrophization.
But our schools actually focus on catastrophizing like scaring children about what our world might be like thanks to climate change. They are molding children into “rescuers” which is parentification. Below is an example of the New York government doing that during COVID:
According to them the child was responsible for the adult’s health. The ad campaign promotes the idea that if the child didn’t get vaccinated people could die and they could be a Hero (savior/rescuer) through this action. That is responsibility shifting.
I think the United States taught a generation (or more) of children to be one-dimensional thinkers stuck in the Drama Triangle lens, so of course they view the government as their “protector” and if the government is not there (ie they didn’t get their representatives into the government), then they are a “victim” of the current administration who needs rescuing.
Spiritual Considerations
Up until now I have been pretty fact or “reality” (as we all share it) focused. But I have a background in Christianity and I have spiritual views, so I wanted to share my understanding of why the pendulum is swinging faster and wider, and I needed to write the above so you could understand this portion.
Trial By Fire
I believe that we are constantly being “tried.” The word “tried” here refers to both being on trial and being in a “trial by fire.” I wrote more about this from a “new age” Christian perspective in my article, “The Lake of Fire: The Ages of Purification Before the New Age” and my article where I describe Satan as the accuser, a lawyer, and Jesus as our advocate, “Why Should We Appreciate Satan (the Devil) Rather Than Fear Him?”.
You are given the choice of life or death. Satan (the adversary) is simply a symbol of the choices that tempt you. You get tempted to be lazy, slothful, prideful, greedy, etc. Every day is a new day to make new choices. Every choice is a choice between life and death, where the choice of “death” leads to easiness now, but suffering in the long-run, and choosing “life” leads to suffering in the short term but heaven in the long-run. Are you lazy or is today the day to beat temptation?
There is no original sin from Eve keeping us in a sin loop. Cain was born directly of Eve and God told him he could choose to not sin.
5… Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Even so-called Christians read the bible and choose death. We all have the ability to choose life (and it doesn’t matter if you claim to believe in Jesus or not). Jesus separates the sheep and the goats by their deeds, not based on if they said Jesus was their lord/master. Christians can’t enter the kingdom of heaven if they didn’t follow Jesus’s example (Matthew 7:21-23).
As people ignore the Holy Spirit convicting them of sin, or ignore reality as we see it and choose a lie over truth, they are walking down the broad way (rather than the narrow, difficult path that Jesus taught). Remember that Jesus taught people to look at their own sin before judging others of theirs.
Everything that “critical theory,” wokeness and the Drama Triangle are based on is the exact opposite of what he taught. You have to mind-read (a cognitive distortion) what other people are thinking to claim that all white people are racist. How can you judge them before judging yourself? You have to be racist to say that “all white people” are anything. This is a wonderful example of projection and even if you don’t believe Jesus even existed, it’s a worthwhile exercise to stop projection in its tracks.
Matthew 7:1 Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2 For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Let me take the speck out of your eye", while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.
People are increasingly laying blame outside of themselves and running away from responsibility and accountability. This also means that they are judging others harsher and harsher, which means, according to Matthew 7:2, that they are getting judged harsher and harsher). If you don’t want to manifest being judged harshly, you might consider being more forgiving of others. Oh, Jesus mentioned that too. Seems like it might be important if he said it twice.
Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
So if you stop forgiving people and judge them harshly, you bring that all upon yourself. Here is a graph I drew up with how I view this phenomena. On the bottom is the ignoring of reality and love that is God. If you have hate that’s a part of ignoring love. If you love a comforting lie over the truth, that counts too.
The longer you spend rebelling against truth and love, the worse your life gets. I view it as an exponential curve. Maybe it’s a little softer than that, but I dunno. I don’t think so based on this lifetime anyway.
When the triggering life events keep coming, eventually one of them will be enough to make you hit rock bottom and repent (stop doing the stuff you were doing and be sorry). Then life can calm down a little bit. Everyone is on their own schedule, because we all have different tolerance levels.
Once they repent and choose the narrow path, it will still be rocky. But I also believe “There’s Grace for Those Who Face (Their Demons).” On that narrow path, you have an advocate helping you along the way. It may be rocky, you may trip, but with a loving desire to do good, you are loved back by the universe/God. The world (which means “sinners” in the bible) may hate you. But they hate the light because like stars light up the darkness, the light illuminates the sin they would rather have buried and hidden.
Why is the Pendulum Swinging Farther? Redux
This pendulum action is a combination of people spending a long time walking down the broad way, ignoring reality and love, and starting on the path to exponentially worse triggering events (from a world/God trying to get them to repent) and the fact that it is happening to two sides of a magnet (left and right political parties).
If you go back to the exponential graph, mirror it, and then rotate it 90 degrees to the left, then start turning it around in a higher dimension, and you might start to visualize a tornado.
At the bottom (when things are not as crazy), stuff is not going so far from the left to the right. But at the top, when things are getting worse, those people would be swinging around far to the left and the right. We’re being spun around.
Now for those people who are dealing with reality, attempting to focus on love, not hate, judging themselves first, not only viewing life through the Drama Triangle lens, they will be at the bottom. This may include some MAGA members because of lot of them were pro-freedom/liberty and letting others do their own thing. I don’t believe the neo-cons are included. I don’t see Authoritarianism as being close to Godliness. The people on the bottom of this “tornado” don’t get flung around so much. And, thankfully, we have control over that.
This is my theory as to why our country is swinging around in a political pendulum right now. I see this as a positive because I know eventually people will hit their rock bottom and make changes which eventually can make the tornado fizzle out, (and I’m hanging out at the bottom where I’m not being flung around as much as others). But, yes, it’s like a storm and there will be some damage.
But people have control over how damaging it gets. The more resistant to God/Truth/Love/Reality etc. the worse things get. But they could let it purify them. They could repent. So I find it a little more difficult to be sympathetic. I truly believe that if people would be more kind1 rather than just trying to look “nice” and turn others into “evil persecutors” then they’d be better off right now.
Please leave a comment with your thoughts on this theory on the political pendulum. Thanks!
BTC Donation Address: bc1q4s6h8rhyqawqlz46ppc3zc5v43duycp8m57h9p