Abstract
The coincidence of hearing two different patients describe watching the same reality television show as a way of comforting themselves during the 2016 election campaign leads the author to reflect on how this particular show came to occupy the place of thirdness in ongoing sessions. Thinking together about this reality show added a new dimension that made it possible for patient and therapist to emerge from a merged state of disbelief into an exploration of the meaning of what seemed an unimaginable political reality, and the exercise of individual agency. In the second part of the article, the author reviews the unfortunate history that has frequently emerged when psychoanalytic institutions attempt to coexist with totalitarian regimes. Pointing out that within-group differences can prove as full of rancor and shame-inducing behavior as between-group differences, the author turns again to the reality television show to provide some answers to this perennial problem.
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