Theories abound for why Vice President Kamala Harris lost the presidential race. Here is the good news: The latest Reuters numbers show that Harris got 48.3% of the popular vote while Trump got 49.9%. There was just a 1.6% difference , so this was hardly a landslide. On the other hand, based on the antiquated Electoral College system, Harris lost 312-226.

I do not blame the other candidate since he is painfully honest about who he is — a predatory, misogynistic, racist, xenophobic and incompetent narcissist who does not care about democracy or the future of our country beyond what he gets for himself.

Given the two clear choices, the Monday morning quarterbacking theories about Democrat strategies should have no significance at all. Harris spoke to economic concerns consistently, she invited people from all walks of life to join in her effort, and she worked tirelessly in her campaign. If you read her book, “The Truths We Hold,” you will get a clearer and heartbreaking picture of what we lost this time around.

The responsibility for the election results lies in the hearts of the people who voted for him. There is darkness in the reactivity to embracing the reality of our diverse society.

If people chose him because they are anti-elite, well, they chose the wrong candidate. If people chose him because they think he will do a better job, they are delusional. The first time around, he rode on the coattails of President Barack Obama’s economic turnaround. He did not lead and he damaged our country’s standing in the world. He allowed countless people to die from COVID because he did not want the reality of the crisis to interfere with his reelection campaign.

Stubborn groupthink adherence is our undoing. We seem to be a country of adolescents — pontificating narrow viewpoints without any desire to think reflectively or to consider the complexity of hard truths. The progressive and left Democrats who sat this one out because Harris was not perfect to them will complain about the unraveling of our democracy as though they had nothing to do with it. Teenagers are never wrong.

The white working, middle and privileged people who voted for him in large numbers will wonder why everything is more expensive and why the health care system is not serving their needs. Many Arab Americans did not want to hear from Harris about standing with the state of Israel plus the rights of Palestinians. Instead they got the guy whose son-in-law wants to turn Gaza into a fancy beach resort and who will try again to either refuse entry or deport Muslims of all kinds in the United States.

While Latino American citizens may be somewhat safe, when police round up people for deportation, they will likely be questioned and seen as outsiders whether or not they voted Republican.

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Teenagers do not like to be told what to do, but they want to be rescued by adults when their actions get them into trouble. This is totally obnoxious and dangerous on a large scale. James Baldwin warned Americans many decades ago: “People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state of innocence long after that innocence is dead turns himself into a monster.” He regularly wrote about moral apathy and delusion in the United States.

We are a monstrous bunch at this moment in time. Just as we were teaching more truthful U.S. history to children — the good, the bad, and the ambiguous — reactionary forces put a stop to it. #MeToo and related movements sought to empower women and end the misogynistic norms that lead to objectification and violence. That won’t do, said the nefarious forces of patriarchy. Women should not control their own bodies at the most basic level, and we will punish them if they step out of line. If they die trying to save themselves, it is their fault.

Moral apathy regarding Jews comes from all sides, and the unprecedented spike in overt acts of antisemitism along with the aberrant reaction to the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in Israel should concern all of us. It is a “canary in the coal mine” indicator that chaos has replaced compassion. The most fervent Western supporters of Hamas would be destroyed by them in an instant. They will not listen to a fuller historical accounting of Israel as they are not interested in hard truths.

Humans are capable of altruism and broad kindness when we see reality and vow to participate with eyes wide open, flexible critical minds, and moral compasses. When we ignore the complexities of hard truths, we invite our demise. I wish Baldwin’s warnings were outdated.

J.M. Sorrell is a feminist at her core. She believes in moral participation with its risks and complications.