The Old Guy: Separating facts from feelings is apparently easier said than done

I had an early morning phone conversation with our son recently and I came away with a startling realization: We had raised a younger version of Jack Webb.

For younger readers, Jack Webb played detective Joe Friday on the radio and television show “Dragnet!,” which began on radio the year I was born. His catch phrase was “Just the facts, m’am,” an attempt to calm down a hysterical witness and get to the bottom of a case.

I totally understand why my son’s generation is more factually based. They have so many ways of researching their decisions that it would appear foolish just to go on their instincts. My generation, on the other hand, was almost entirely feelings based.

Just a cursory search in iTunes reveals titles such as “I Got A Feeling” by the Beatles, “Peaceful Easy Feeling” by the Eagles, “Got A Feeling” by the Mamas and Papas and “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers. For us, almost everything was about feelings. “I got a bad feeling about this” is an often repeated mantra in “Star Wars” films. The 60s ushered in a decade of tarot card readings, new age theories and crystals, “vibes,” “grooves,” finding your “tribe” and the astonishing musical “HAIR.” Long hair was a sign of resistance, the peace sign could get your head caved in, and the music was raw, rebellious and exploratory.

I’ve written about traumas and it’s really interesting how different groups respond to them. My generation responded to Vietnam and civil unrest by seeking peace through other venues. My son’s generation experienced 9/11 and COVID and seeks answers through Google. Again, not surprising. The world wide web, the internet and electronic connectivity began in the late 70s. I have photos from a classroom in 2003 that contain not one computer or cell phone. And yet, my granddaughter will never remember a time when she couldn’t Skype with her dad.

But, as a friend at a party recently observed, “feelings…