Michael Douglas and the Democrat Vibe Crisis

Douglas' Vanity Fair interview underscores the biggest problem plaguing Democrats - a blurry worldview where vibes are policy and the real problems of regular people an annoyance

In a recent Vanity Fair interview, actor Michael Douglas looked out from the serene heights of the Hollywood Hills and declared this the worst he’s ever seen the world in his 80-plus years. He blamed two culprits: his own generation and Donald Trump. One out of two isn’t bad—especially for Hollywood arithmetic.

The real story wasn’t the blame he cast, but the worldview his comments conveyed: one increasingly common among Democrats—driven not by evidence, but by emotion; not by history, but by vibes. It’s a worldview that mistakes moral posturing for policy and confuses blame with leadership.

Douglas isn’t wrong to be alarmed. He’s just pointing in the wrong direction. Yes, the last fifty years have been marked too often by a political class motivated more by ideology than outcomes. But the crisis isn’t Trump. It’s the broken system that produced him—a system Democrats have largely built and are now determined to defend.

The playbook is stale. When reality gets uncomfortable, shift the focus to a familiar scapegoat: Trump, defense spending, or middle America's supposedly backward values. Forget rising crime, failing schools, and institutional rot. Blame MAGA and move on.

Douglas even wonders aloud: why do we still have war when we're so intelligent? It’s a fair question only if you’ve never met another human being or read a history book. Intelligence doesn’t eliminate evil. The urge to dominate, destroy, and dehumanize is an ancient malady of the human heart and lives rent-free today in Moscow, Tehran, Beijing, and Gaza.

Humans aren’t as enlightened as our iPhones suggest. Simply choosing to upgrade to World Peace 2.0 by gutting defense spending won’t cause dictators to lay down power, join a book club, and download Wordle. The same impulse that motivated Julius Caesar to kill a million Gauls still drives Putin, Khamenei, and Xi.

Since the Obama years, a growing number of Democrats have embraced the belief that America should apologize—for its power, its principles, and its past. Douglas agrees.

His apology tour starts in Canada—a nation that confiscated the bank accounts of truckers for protesting peacefully, criminalized biologically correct pronouns, and encourages suicide for the inconvenienced.

Then it’s on to Mexico, where the socialist president outsourced the northern border to violent cartels, partnered with China to undermine U.S. tariffs, and fumed at Trump’s proposed 5% remittance tax—even as she pockets 16% off every dollar sent back to Mexico.

So long as it’s the third world, it’s not corruption—it’s culture.

Douglas’ brand of moral confusion is everywhere. A Quinnipiac poll this week shows 60% of Democrats sympathize with Palestine, while just 12% side with Israel—this, after Hamas slaughtered civilians, used children as shields, and operated out of hospitals. Apparently, building a thriving democracy is more offensive than murdering Jews.

And yet, for Douglas and the elites who run the Democrat Party, it’s America—and presumably Israel—that needs to be nicer, more apologetic, and less confident of their values.

It’s a strange form of moral juggling: give real villains a pass despite horrific evil, then blame those who most exemplify equality, rule of law, and human dignity.

Meanwhile, most Americans just want to know why their streets are less safe, their kids’ schools are falling apart, and their cities are increasingly dysfunctional.

They aren’t interested in grandstanding—they want results.

Douglas sees a way out through Gen Z. He believes young Americans will rise up to become mayors, judges, and city council members and “take our cities back.”

The question is: back from whom? Nearly all of America’s 50 biggest cities are controlled by Democrats, and have been for decades.

The results? Higher poverty (20%), worse schools (only 42% proficiency), and violent crime rates more than triple the suburban and rural average. So yes, let’s replicate that in more places.

Douglas’ outlook is classic coastal elite: the world viewed from the backseat of a chauffeured Bentley, not the alleys of East L.A., where addiction, gang violence, and child sex trafficking are daily realities.

He’s not alone. Many Americans today vote vibes, not brains. They’re mad about “the system,” but unsure which part of the machine is actually escalating world conflict and grinding down their neighborhoods, businesses, and schools.

If we want change, we need to stop electing people who think virtue is measured by the blame you hurl, the guilt you spout, and the apologies you issue. We need leaders who understand that freedom and safety require warriors, borders, and common sense.

One thing’s certain: Hollywood lectures won’t make a single household more prosperous, a recent high school graduate more employable, or a foreign tyrant less inclined to attack their neighbor.

Clear thinking, common sense, and grown-up leadership might. Right now, Democrats are facing a significant shortage of all three.