Valentine's Day and Life

Sorry for the long delay in posts, life has been hectic and I have been a slacker. Neither of these points should surprise anyone that knows me, but there it is.

Anyway, I was thinking about Valentine's Day, life, and an assortment of other things these past couple of weeks. It's not a surprise I have been thinking about V-day recently, since you can't turn over a piece of cement that has fallen from the darkest of sewers without seeing some propaganda that tells us how romantic, and loving, and thoughtful, and original we all have to be for our special someone. (BTW - Are we still being original if everyone is original? Ugh, I suppose that goes back to the idea that you aren't that special if everyone is unique, it's being unique that is common.)

So, can anyone guess what I think of Valentine's Day? The very fact that you can't look up its origin for any real sense of validation should tip you off. Go ahead, search the Internet, you won't find one, consistent story that explains how V-day came to be. Sure, sure, most point to a Saint Valentine, but which one (there's something like five of them) it actually refers to (if any) is all conjecture. Which begs the question - how the hell did we get fooled into recognizing this as a holiday?

Those darned Catholics. Honestly, for a religion that is supposed to be based on worshipping one God (albeit a Holy Trinity), the Catholics sure do know how to muddle things up. Pray to Mary, the Virgin Mother, pray to these extremely devout people we call Saints, pray in front of altars and statues and tabernacles, even have the priest pray for you, but please, PLEASE, don't grow a sense of initiative, read the Bible, and come to your own personal relationship with God!

Ok, ok, I know that's a bit rough, and I certainly do not mean to lessen the sacrifices and roles God's people have played throughout history. Still, it seems to me to be counter-intuitive to put forth a throng of spiritual figures throughout history for us to get to know, admire, and even pray to, when the most important goal of Christianity is your faith in God.

So, I digressed a bit, forgive me. Anyway, so now we have this holiday passed on by generations in which we take time to woo those we have romantic affections for or to rekindle or reaffirm current romantic relationships. Is this so terrible? Not on the face of it. I mean, I can admit that I am not the most romantic person on earth. The fact there is at least one day in a year that couples are strongly encouraged to show affection can have some benefit. That said, how many relationships end on V-day? How many people are left feeling lonely and depressed? How many are abandoned for someone else? HOW MANY V-DAY CALORIES DOES THE AVERAGE COUPLE CONSUME!? (Ok, so this might not be the most important point.)

The fact is the V-day is little more than a tool by the international world to get us to spend our hard earned dollars. Sure, some people have very memorable and special V-days. I have had some myself (I'll get to my practice of V-day later). But the bottom line is that it helps stimulate economies and keeps the industrial wheels turning. That's life. Pretty much anything global scale is for little more than to keep the industrial wheels turning. X-mas? Contorted with St. Nick and Black Peter. Mother's Day? C'mon we all need to be thanking our mom's more than just once a year.

So, I do my part. I'm a good global citizen and I grease the wheels of economy. I don't like Valentine's Day. I think it's a sham. But, I'll be honest; the sham sometimes puts a smile on my girlfriend's face and that makes it more tolerable.