Some Thoughts About Valentine's Day

	I usually like to take this time of year to post a little
rant about Valentine's Day. The ravings of a lonely heart? Perhaps.
The celebration of love is a fair and wonderful idea. Where would
the world be today if people spent a little more time spreading
love and tolerance? Certainly, let us share love, let us declare
its message of devotion. Surely, if a groundhog coming out
of hibernation deserves a day of dedication, then so does love.
The weather of February is cold and heartless, and it is fitting
we spread some hearts and flowers during this, the shortest of
months.

	So, what is my beef with the day of Saint Valentine?
Allow me to explain in this fashion. There are a number of
things which lose their spark, their energy and their most
important qualities when people lose focus of what is important;
when the "why" of the thing is lost. For example, democracy
was created as a system to give The People strength. Under
a democracy, the lower classes are given a voice and protection
from the tyranny of the rich and powerful. It is a system,
which in its infancy, is often strongly supported by the masses.
People take their basic rights seriously, given a taste of Freedom.
However, over time, we have seen The People tend to lose their
passion for democracy. Once the direct threat of dictatorship
is removed, once the initial battle has been won, the masses
rarely see the need to take an active role in government. Democracy,
with the passion removed, becomes a bureaucracy.

	Likewise, when the erotic becomes automatic, routine, it
becomes pornography. When the end is pre-determined, art
becomes time-filler and tasks become chores.

	The same has become true, I fear, of St. Valentine's Day.
When love and affection become timed and predictable motions
in our dance of life, romance becomes prostitution. How rare
it is, these days, to see someone happily approaching Valentine's
Day. What to buy? where to eat? Displaying affection for a partner
has disappeared behind a wall of marketing. Worse, the
celebration is being clouded by expectations.

	Hope is important. One might even consider it a requirement.
However, expectations are dangerous. Hope is a light which urges
us forward through life's dark moments. Expectations are like promises
to ourselves, waiting to be broken. All too often, couples entangle
themselves in false expectations.

	Our society is so wrapped up in consuming and one-upping, we
have blinded ourselves. We are focused on the here and now, on
quick fixes and wrapping paper. So brightly do the lights of
marketing shine, we are distracted from what really matters. At
Valentine's Day what really matters is the person with whom
we spend our time. How we treat that person, how we feel and communicate
is more important than going through the socially pre-set rules of
romance. What is important is the spark and the long lasting glow
some couples are lucky enough to enjoy, together.

	The other week, I was watching "Forest Gump" my my room mate. In the
movie, there is a scene where the main character (played by Tom Hanks) is
looking over a sea of protesters in Washington, DC. Tens of thousands are
gathered, from all over the country, to protest the war in Vietnam. 
During this scene, my room mate turned to me and asked, "Do you think the
American people will ever get that passionate about the war in Iraq?"

	No, no they will not. Not because of the oil or the propaganda
or because they're actually winning this war with the tar (oil?) baby.
No, the passion has, largely, gone out of North American culture. Our
drive, our identity is fading from us. Caring and ethics and improving
are being replaced with the rotting smell of colourful advertisements,
fast food and dissolved marriages. The quality of our goods, our entertainment
and our politics is quickly sliding down the slope of mediocrity and
our position on the whole situation is, sadly, indifferent.

	This year, I would urge people to put down the red ribbons and pink
hearts and get enthusiastic about expressing their love. If it's affection via
diamonds and chocolates, that's great, but do it with feeling, not because
you're suppose to.