The rise of Feeling. While reading about the two leading Republican candidates and their ability to appeal the the “emotional base” of their party, the thought came to me that here is the great irony of the Republican Party. In the past, say prior to the 80s, Republicans were a head party, a party of ideas, business acumen, logic and the Democrats were the emotional feely people. This was the classic male vs female pair off, with the male representing absolute laws and order while the “permissive” female side was interested in individual values and the feelings of the minorities. This all came to a head in the 70s as we witnessed the rise of Dirty Harry as our savior.
But now the Republican cater to the feelings and emotions of their people, and idea and logic are shaped to fit feelings, supporting them instead of putting them in their place, keeping them barefoot and pregnant, so to speak. Now feelings are in the saddle and ride the mind of man.
You can see this everywhere. “How do you feel?” we all want to know, says the reporter sticking his mike in your face when you just lost your house. This can be traced back, I think, to the cultural reversals of the 60s when for the Hippies (our boomers of today) focused on the body and its feelings instead of social order and the need for certainty and security.
Why this rise in Feelings? Well, feelings are real, present, and subjective. Feelings cut through the objective media and when you see tears on TV tears may come to your eyes. Feelings unite; feeling bonds; feelings make us feel alive, in grief or anger. The medium is the message. It is not so much what we are feeling about, but that we are having feelings and expressing them that is important to us. Through the media of TV we feel connected through expressed feelings. In the old print media of the newspapers, you could not experience feelings the way you do through TV. Ideas were in control there; feelings are in the saddle now and facts are its horse.
Posted under General Observations
This post was written by ed on August 26, 2011