The Progressive Cohort Seems Incapable of Accepting Defeat or Learning from It

With a focus on whining rather than winning, being a Democrat is similar to being a Washington, DC, sports fan. While cities such as New York and Boston expect World Series and Super Bowl celebrations at season’s end, no one mentions Washington teams as contenders for anything. Whether it’s the Georgetown University basketball team, the NFL Redskins, the NBA Wizards, or the Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB), merely avoiding a last-place finish constitutes a great year.

Since 90% of Washingtonians support Democrats, it’s no coincidence their sports teams reflect the people that live in the city: sad sacks, underdogs, and lovable losers.

It’s also evident to those who come from a tradition of winning why Washingtonians never win. The city has too many incompetents running things. Washington is a city that closes down when or even before the first snowflake hits the ground. Those who lead the Democrat Party fostered a culture of enabling boorish childish behavior. On winning sports franchises, in contrast, no one is theoretically considered better than the other, and they all pull together. What good does it do if your star player hits 40 home runs when the team is mired in last place? Great coaches often find players to fit the team, unlike the way Democrats pamper outspoken radicals such as Adam Schiff, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib, among many others.

Winners possess a different mentality than our progressive counterparts. Winners look for ways to improve and learn from setbacks where progressives whine and cry when things don’t go their way. Many Democrats are still heartbroken over the 2016 presidential election. Do these people ever watch sports? Adversity is the spice of life. If you haven’t met failure and disappointment, chances are you’ve done nothing worthwhile.

Playing by the Same Rules

If you don’t like losing national elections, try learning how to win one instead of complaining. Self-loathing and pity parties leave rational people unconvinced. I don’t care how you feel about Donald Trump or the Electoral College. Whining about elections is like the Washington Nationals (and their Montreal Expos predecessor) whining about not winning a World Series in 50 years.

Winners look for ways to improve and learn from setbacks where progressives whine.

The rules in baseball for the most part haven’t changed in over 100 years; fundamentally, it’s still three strikes and three outs per inning. The Yankees get the same at-bats as the Nationals. Why have the Yankees won 27 World Series while the Nationals spend year after year as also-rans? Similarly, the US Constitution hasn’t changed: Democrats need to assess why Donald Trump won when both parties play in accordance with the Electoral College instead of trying to change or make an end-run around the rules.

From baseball, I understood the mentality of being a victim, sufferer, an underdog. My parents were New York Mets fans. Cleveland fans are in the same boat. It’s sad that the highlight of your season might be wearing a bag over your face because your team is so awful. If the Democrats become any worse, they may become the Cleveland Browns of politics. Out of loyalty, my father stayed devoted to a team unwilling to do what it takes to win. He adored the Mets because of Brooklyn and Jackie Robinson, baseball’s first black ballplayer. He despised the Yankees because of their racist history, including that they were one of the last teams to sign African Americans.

Baseball as a Metaphor

Resentment and aggrievement seem to be a trait with Democrats; my parents were no different. If you wrong Democrats, they are forever resentful. My father couldn’t accept that America evolved since African Americans were subject to discrimination in the 1950s and before. Although the Dodgers were the first to sign black ballplayers, my father couldn’t see then-owner Walter O’Malley betraying them for the sunny pastures of Los Angeles. Not only did O’Malley and the Dodgers leave town, he also helped deprive New York of watching Willie Mays, whose Giants left for San Francisco around the same time.

Brooklyn has never recovered. While MLB gave New Yorkers the expansion Mets as a quasi form of compensation, the Mets have generally been a running joke compared to the Yankees.

While some of our Founding Fathers owned slaves, and the country committed genocide against Native Americans, progressives don’t understand that the US has uplifted the lives of millions fleeing oppression and tyranny. Major League baseball had a horrible past by barring African Americans from getting on the field. While Jackie Robinson was the first black ballplayer, teams such as the Yankees, Phillies, and Red Sox resisted integration.

While the Yankees were slow to hiring minorities, things changed under George Steinbrenner, who bought the team in 1973. He not only hired African Americans, he made stars such as Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, and later Derek Jeter among the highest paid professional athletes. He also hired African American coaches and front officer personnel. Indeed, it’s no longer a big deal when a team hires an African American to be a manager, coach, or general manager.

Big League vs. Little League

I often wonder if Liberals ever follow sports or have personally competed even in high school, middle school, or Little League, or pick-up games in the park. Whenever I hear liberals complain about morality and character, their knowledge of history is called in question. In sports, the game is littered with idealized athletes who went bust. At the same time, there have been Babe Ruths who drank, smoked cigarettes, and philandered but smashed all the records.

This pretty much how Capitalism works; what somebody does in their own private life is usually their business. People tolerated Babe Ruth because he was a baseball superstar; his wild partying didn’t impact anyone but himself. Liberals don’t understand nuance and complexity. Why do I care what Trump did in private any more than I did with Bill Clinton?

In Capitalism, morality generally doesn’t matter; it’s how you perform. In totalitarian systems such as socialism and Leftism, you need permission and approval just to change a light bulb. In Capitalism, every once in a while a Babe Ruth or Ty Cobb challenge your view. With President Trump, many Republican, Democrats, and independent voters saw their vote as a risk because of his celebrity lifestyle. The results of the Trump administration speak for themselves, however.

Politics is the same way; as with baseball, it’s nothing personal. Every team dreams of winning the World Series but there is only one trophy. I’m sure the Nationals organization consists of nice people with great families. There’s a difference between being a New York Yankee fan and a Washingtonian.

To Yankees fans, or even Red Sox fans, winning the World Series is considered the equivalent to a birthright. New England Patriots followers also feel the same way about the Super Bowl. Fans of those teams never get tired of winning, to borrow a phrase from President Trump.

Competition is Healthy

While I don’t support Democrats, I believe we need two viable parties. Great teams on any playing field need worthy adversaries. The Yankees need the Boston Red Sox, for example, and the Republicans need a Democrat Party that keeps them on their toes rather than complacent. While I’m not a Washington sports fan, it would be nice one day to live in a city that competes rather than spends every year whining about why their lives are miserable.

For Democrats and Washingtonians, learn how to win instead of whining about how the game is played or the final score.