In her 1984 essay, “The Will to Disbelieve,” former Ambassador to the U.N. Jeanne Kirkpatrick warned about the American Left’s ability to ignore the facts about the economic and social perils of the global advance of communism.

Many liberals at the time, however, were very aware of the obvious overlaps of liberalism, socialism and communism. They felt that any rebuke of communism would equate to an endorsement of Reagan’s brand of free-market capitalism. It could be said that liberals unknowingly adopted Reagan’s 11th Commandment, “Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican,” applying it instead to communism.

This political form of cognitive dissonance left many on the Left with no option but to oppose Reagan’s policies, both foreign and domestic. Then, as now, the Left was more critical of Reagan than they were of the communists. Kirkpatrick rightfully referred to the Left’s propensity to suspend facts in favor of their own moral code as “the will to disbelieve.”

Fast-forward 30 years and we find that the more things have changed, the more they have stayed the same.

The will to disbelieve runs deep across the electorate today, and seems to prevent many from distinguishing truth from fiction. Cities and towns, states and nations are withering beneath economic strain created by decades of liberal policies. Much of Europe is mired in debt brought on by a deadly cocktail of penal tax codes mixed with unsustainable public pension obligations, poured over an ever-expanding social welfare state and finished with a dash of porous immigration policies. Here at home, Detroit provides a case study in the failure of liberal public management.

Despite these failings, American liberals continue to clamor for the same expansion of social welfare programs and the continued growth of public pensions bankrupting cities and states, and, as I write, are ratcheting up the rallying cry for an unprecedented wave of immigration.

Meanwhile, many of the European countries are in the process of imposing harsh austerity measures in attempts to recover from their profligate past.

When similar entitlement reform is discussed in Washington, Augusta, Wisconsin or Anywhere, U.S.A., liberals pounce on those suggesting responsible reform as being gerontophobic, or worse.

Liberals apply their will to disbelieve to a wide range of issues, as indicated by an insatiable desire for increased spending in public schools and an insistence on greater gun control, as examples. Despite spending up to $15,000 per student in some of the nation’s poorest performing schools, test scores have remained flat or declining for decades. When the parents of children in these poor performing schools plead for school choice, liberals stand steadfast against change, with the barricades to common sense manned by the teachers unions. Similarly, cities that have adopted the strictest gun control policies suffer the largest gun violence problems. Yet the will to disbelieve grows stronger.

The tragedy in Benghazi highlights the very real, lifethreatening nature of this unchecked will to disbelieve. Despite the Obama Administrations’ best efforts to deceive the American public about the events leading up to the death of four Americans, with the complicity of a submissive media, reports now show that President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton knowingly misled the American people by repeatedly blaming the attack on the embassy on a low-budget YouTube video. This seemed to create an ever-growing, endless loop of willing disbelief that fanned out among the populace. Thankfully, as demonstrated by a recent episode of “60 Minutes,” many in the mainstream media are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain this level of deception.

I certainly don’t expect liberals to magically abandon their will to disbelieve. Even as the failures of liberal economic policies continue to mount across the globe, as individual liberals attempt to log on to healthcare. gov only to experience the now famous Error 404, liberal intellectual hubris only grows like a goiter, causing the Left to lurch even further left. Like a cornered animal, they behave all the more hostile toward their opponents.

Liberal reaction to the Obamacare catastrophe has not been sensible or well reasoned. Instead, past will serve as prelude, just as in the 1980s. Despite the facts, they are unable to admit mistakes. They heighten their political and personal attacks on those who disagree with them, while arguing for greater control.

There is hope. As more members of the mainstream media recover from their will to disbelieve, the public will increasingly be exposed to the truth.

DEAN SCONTRAS was the Republican candidate in the First Congressional District in 2008 and 2010.