I have noticed a trend that disturbs me, and though I don't have any conspiracy theories about it, still I wonder what is going on. People used to say they "thought" something was a certain way, now they "feel" that something is a certain way. For example: "I feel like that should be the combination to the lock." "I feel like that word is spelled...." "I feel like I should have more money in my account than I do." Does this bother anyone else?
Words matter. Feelings are subjective matters of the heart, not to be confused with objective facts. If we as a society equate thinking with feeling, we're headed for trouble. In my opinion, socialism and all the government programs it spawns are based on feelings: "Oh, that poor person is having trouble with (fill in the blank). Let's lobby government to create a program for that." In other words, "I'm overflowing with compassion, but either (a) not enough to inconvenience myself to directly help the person, or (b) I don't have the thinking skills necessary to come up with a plan. So I'll just create a fuss until someone 'fixes' the problem."
But the thinking person knows that (a) you can't legislate away the laws of economics, and socialism leads to higher taxes and more government debt, which lead to the killing of jobs and an unstable currency, which lead to misery for everyone, and (b) government interventions have many unintended consequences, the worst of which in my mind is co-dependency, which cripples the soul. It takes thinking people to come up with creative ways to help their brothers which don't rely on confiscation from the giver and thus don't cause the recipients to feel, on a more or less conscious level, like thieves.
Maybe you disagree, but one thing I do know is that this country was built on the backs of great thinkers, planners, organizers, and creators -- not just "feelers" who wave their hands in the air and wonder why the world doesn't match up with their utopian visions (OWS for example). And that's all I've got to say about that.
Actually... just kidding.
