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By 1776

In almost every walk of life, a crushing and traumatic setback typically results in a period of serious reflection and introspection.

When a sports franchise sets out to make the playoffs and fails to achieve that goal, they ask themselves questions like, “What did we do wrong?” and “Where can we improve?”

Team executives are humbled and apologetic; coaches are put in the hot-seat and made to justify their position within the team’s managerial hierarchy; and players are scrutinized and re-assessed in order to determine where they fit into the team’s overall strategy, if at all – all in an attempt to appease an angry and disappointed fan-base.

Or consider what happens when a company like Apple or Samsung brings a new product to market, only to have it flop.

The ensuing internal machinations, where executives scramble to explain themselves and vow to rectify the mistake, is driven largely by the external reaction of consumers who instantly and mercilessly lambaste the offending product.

Even small-scale associations like a family are governed by this organic process of stimulus and response, where feedback mechanisms establish and maintain an equilibrium between opposing forces.

When mom is unhappy with dad because he isn’t paying her enough attention, he responds with a romantic gesture in an attempt to make amends; when Johnny forgets to take out the trash on Monday night, maybe he does the dishes in order to maintain the peace; and when Mary gets a detention, perhaps she stays in on Friday to do some extra studying.

The common element running through all these seemingly disparate associations is that they tend to respond rationally to their own mistakes. If they didn’t, all social order as we know it would eventually collapse.

Granted, there are times when individuals refuse to respond rationally. But these types of responses, by statistical definition, fall outside the norm and serve to exacerbate the underlying dysfunction. Eventually, things become so dysfunctional that one of two things happens: option 1, either the underlying interpersonal or social order completely disintegrates, or option 2, it radically changes in response to extreme pressure. One thing is for sure however, there will and must be a reckoning at some point. The natural order demands it.

So imagine if the aforementioned associations – sports teams, private companies, families – responded, not with introspection and reflection, but with belligerent denial and finger pointing.

This is exactly the sort of reaction that the Democrat party machinery has had in response to their recent electoral failures. Instead of simply admitting the truth, which is that they failed to persuade enough voters to vote for them. Instead the DNC has decided to deny any responsibility on their own part. They have devided to blame everyone and everything, from the Russians to crypto white nationalism, for their inability to win the presidency and make inroads at the state and local levels.

Nowhere is this denial more evident than in Michael Moore’s recent statements about female Trump voters, referring to them as “victims” of “ingrained misogyny and sexism.”

Ironically enough, Moore’s attempts to paint them as victims is arguably more “sexist” than anything Trump ever said during his run for president. His characterization of female Trump supporters denies them their individual agency and treats them, not as rational adults making self-interested decisions, but as damsels in distress. Blindly groveling in the dark as they wait for a white knight like Moore to ride in and rescue them from their own ignorance and victimhood.

This outright refusal to attribute to their political opponents any rational motives or genuine self-determination is a huge reason why Democrats and their European fellows are losing so much ground in the political arena. Their refusal to acknowledge the underlying rationality of their political opposition stems from their own unwillingness to critically examine their own mistakes, flaws, and shortcomings.

As long as Democrats remain in denial, they risk becoming increasingly marginalized and irrelevant. Only by taking a serious and sincere look at themselves and others can they hope to reverse their descent into insularity, instability, and irrationality.

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