teeminus

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In my social psych class we discussed the idea of love... 

As I thought about it I realized when most people describe how "love" feels, they list a series of symptoms that suggest indigestion, cardiac arrhythmia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

How Much I Love You

It's hard to say "Happy Valentine's Day!" without vomiting a little or thinking about money.

Our modernized, Americanized, and crappy version of this feast day in Roman Catholic tradition strikes a nerve with me. So much so that I want to further its exploitation of our definitions of love, value, worth, etc...

According to Wikipedia (the next great American novel), "The name 'Valentine,' derived from valens (worthy), was popular in late antiquity."

So, Valentine means "worth," eh?

How many times have we been told -- directly or indirectly -- that you can tell a person his or her worth to you by how much money you spend on him or her? You can communicate worth to/of your loved one on this, the day American business has made.

It's a pretty simple connection; normally, it would be too ridiculous a jump to make, but advertising did its job. Started us at an early age. We're indoctrinated, convinced; we're bought, we're sold, we're hooked. As any good child (or significant other) knows, love is quantifiable -- and best measured in US dollars: You tell me how much you love me by how much money you spend on me.

So, here's my business plan (and you may not steal it):

I plan to start a business where people (mostly men) can pay me a sum of money. I give him a receipt that has the total dollar amount I received from him, his name, and a space for him to write his "other's" name. In doing so, she (or he... my business doesn't discriminate when it comes to taking money) will know how much money her or his lover has spent. It's a simple transaction, easy to quantify (no searching for receipts or catalogues to decipher price), and therefore a clear communication of how much American-love this person has for you.

But in all seriousness, how much do people want to be worshiped? A gift of something expensive and unnecessary -- for someone else, or even for yourself -- how is this any different than worship of pagan gods? We have learned to see ourselves as gods, and we expect to be treated as such: entitled, deserving, and therefore understandably demanding of pleasure and adoration at others' expense.