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| Daniel's "rant" is on Valentine's Day. He believes that we should show our love and care every day of the year, instead of only on Valentine's Day. |
Rant number two: Valentine's Day
Daniel Hensley | 2/22/08 | Opinion
ven though Valentine's Day was about a week ago, I'm still ranting. Why do we place such importance on Valentine's Day? Why do people feel the need to buy into the corporate lie that is Valentine's Day? Above all else, who truly believes that what we celebrate as Valentine's Day is anything more than a sham created by those who want to get richer off of our money?
Why do we as a society buy into this sham of an ideal? Is it love? Do we feel that this one day out of the year is nearly enough to show that one special someone that we truly care? If we really cared, we wouldn't have to celebrate Valentine's Day because we would express our love and care every single day of the year. I'm not saying that we should go out and buy over-sized teddy bears every day. That would clutter rooms and empty wallets. I'm not saying to go out and buy massive amounts of chocolates for that special someone every day. That would lead to cavities and more obesity. What I'm saying is, we should find ways to show that we care everyday, not just on that one day out of the year.
Why is it that we feel the need to show our love through material goods? Why is it a giant stuffed monstrosity? Why is it a huge box of candy? Why can't it be a kind word or gesture? Why can't it be simply asking how someone's day was or if they're doing okay at home? Our consumerist economy has blinded us to the true ideal of what could be a beautiful holiday. Our drive to show off the best present has led us away from the caring gesture originally intended to be behind the act.
Now, I'm not saying that everyone leaves love and care behind when they give gifts on Valentine's Day. I'm not saying that the only reason we have Valentine's Day is so that the major conglomerates can gain an extra penny out of our hard earned wages. What I am saying, however, is that we shouldn't go all out on one day out of the year to make up for the other 364 days that we don't do anything at all to show our affection. I'm just saying that perhaps we should move away from the consumerist holiday that it has become, and move back to the peaceful, loving holiday that it was meant to be.
No more big teddy bears (unless it's just to anger the staff) and no more huge groups of balloons tied to an even larger bundle of roses. Go for subtlety. Go for something personalized that says "I love you" not "Look, I got you the same thing that twenty other people got their significant others." Try baking. Try cooking. Try anything that shows that it is YOU that cares, not some major corporation that mass produces their "love."
Fight against the major corporations. Fight against the meaningless holiday that has become Valentine's Day. And most importantly, show the meaning of Valentine's Day every day, not just the one day out of the year.
Cheers.
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