Sometimes, a loss is just a loss. You pick yourself up, shake yourself off, and try harder next time. Sometimes, however, failure means more than that. Sometimes it’s a wake-up call.

This Tuesday, Republican hopes for the presidency – and a reversal of the policies of the last four years – were demolished. Mitt Romney lost the election by 97 electoral votes, and Barack Obama won every swing state but North Carolina. Moreover, gay marriage was legalized in three states, the first gay and pansexual senators were elected, and recreational marijuana usage was legalized in Colorado.

In one night, with which the GOP hoped to regain control of America, the Democratic Party gained more ground than most would have believed possible.

For the Republican Party, Tuesday was not just a loss. It was a message from the American people, and if the GOP wants to remain a relevant fixture of our political system, it must receive and act upon that message.

The key issue here is not the economy, foreign policy or education. It’s how the two parties conceptualize the rights of Americans, and the definition of freedom. The GOP is adhering to an unraveling social platform, and the statistics prove it.

Let’s look at some of these statistics: In 2010, support for gay marriage overtook opposition, and today 52 percent of Americans believe gay marriage should be legal. Also in 2010, a majority of Americans supported the legalization of marijuana for the first time. In 2011, 36 percent of Americans (the highest ever) supported the legality of abortion “under any circumstances,” and 77 percent now believe abortion should remain legal.

To summarize, support for abortion, gay marriage and marijuana legalization has been growing for years. And crucially, Americans who support these things are now the majority.

When the GOP tries, for instance, to block gay marriage, it is attempting to legislate the morality of America based on what a minority of Americans believe. In a democracy, this is called “suicide.”

Statistics indicate Romney didn’t lose the election because of his economic views (Americans are largely dissatisfied with Obama’s performance in that arena). He also didn’t lose because of his foreign policy views. He lost because he believes the government can tell Americans how to make their personal moral choices, and we are at a point in history when Americans are no longer willing to accept this.

The GOP now has a choice: It can depart from its outmoded conceptualization of governmental roles, or it can continue to lose.