Hooked on a Feeling

Somewhere sometime we appear to have turned a corner in our society. I suspect there has always been this element. It just wasn't so dominant or so pervasive. It is seen in the rise of the term "I feel like" that has replaced "I think that." Forbes did an article on this idea back in 2020. The Google data indicates that the use of "I feel" took a big leap starting in 2016 and continues to rise. The term is being used as a passive way to express "I think." It is a method to demonstrate humility and compassion, both good things except when they have no part in the conversation.

I noticed the trend at work. Mind you, I work in a research environment with scientists and specialists. So to hear a PhD scientist say, "I feel like this experiment should act this way" is a little unnerving. "You feel like it will? What do you think? Have you thought about it?" And so it goes. Christians "feel like" God intended to say ____ or this particular text means ____. Family members "feel like" this activity is perfectly suitable or a real abomination. We have a pandemic of "feel" over "think."

Maybe it's the explanation of our current societal think tank, by which I mean the tank into which we, as a nation, appear to have thrown our thinking capacity. This holding tank is how the mayor of a major U.S. city could declare, "We will not allow that company in our city becuase we are an inclusive city" without batting an eye. It's how we can not think twice about declaring a 4-year-old is a bad source for deciding whether he can smoke or drink or drive a car but the best source for deciding he should be a she. It explains perfectly how a bill can be labeled a "Don't say gay" bill without anything in the bill to require "Don't say gay." It tells us all we need to know about how a president can say a multi-trillion dollar program won't cost a penny and that there needs to be a regime change in Russia but he's opposed to a regime change in Russia.

We have gotten hooked on feeling and it's dragging us down the street. We no longer evaluate; we feel. We no longer consider; we feel. Reasoning, evidence, actual facts are no longer necessary; we just feel. If "she" says he sexually abused her, we feel she should be believed. Well, unless we feel she shouldn't. Or unless we can't really define "she" because we're not biologists. We're out of our minds and into our emotions, and it isn't helpful. It explains why logic, reason, and evidence are no longer offered or required in discussions. And it is not a surprise (Rom 1:18-32).