Valentine’s Day

 

Some spiteful magic took away our ability to love.

Cards in red envelopes remain undelivered; long-stemmed roses wilt in flower shop windows.  Boxes covered in red foil gather dust on drug store shelves.

Messages fade on hard, chalky candy:  the Conversation Hearts, instead of “Kiss Me” or “Be Mine,” might as well say “Let’s Not” and “Go Away.”

As some scientists and philosophers have argued, love is a survival instinct, encouraging us to perpetuate the species.  Many people hope that only the symbols have disappeared — the merchandise with simple poetry, rather than the deep emotions they pretend to represent.

Unfortunately, that wish is unfounded.  Any cursory look at how we treat each other proves the point.

However, there is a silver lining.

Not all of us look forward to Valentine’s Day.  February 14 has been an annually recurring insult to those among us who have never known love.  If our days are incomplete, they are not always unpleasant.

We are here to reassure you:

People will continue to share homes, in order to defray costs.  They will split chores, gather to share food and drink.

Societies will still create and raise children.

Life will go on.

It’s not the end of the world.  It really isn’t.