Today is February 1st, 2008, which means 13 days remain before February 14th. I'm sure I don't have to tell all of you socially conscious minded people that February 14th is Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day, in my mind, is the most over-commercialized holiday of them all (Can it really even be considered a holiday since no one gets the day off?). When I think of Valentine's Day, I get a mental image of a group of evil florist owners and chocolate manufacturers hidden away in a dark room somewhere, holding a secret convention about how to get more money out of the average American male this year than they did last year.
Don't get it twisted. I'm probably the most hopelessly romantic of any guy you'll ever meet, but I'm not naive enough to believe Valentine's Day holds any real significance. It's fake, fiscally driven, and does nothing but put pressure on men to attempt to prove their love to the women in their lives - as if doing so is really as easy as sending a dozen red roses (the most cliched, played out gesture of them all)and a box of chocolates.
Now gentlemen, I'm not saying don't do anything at all. That's the last thing I'm suggesting, and the last thing you want to do if you know what's good for you. What I am saying is put some thought into it. Take the time and effort to make the lady in your life know you care about her. Cook her dinner. Share a nice bottle of wine. Light candles. Draw her a bath with rose petals floating on the surface. Do something, just don't be regular.
It's no secret this holiday is geared towards men. It puts all the pressure on us. Women are expected to do nothing but sit back and look forward to being showered with gifts. How about you buy us something? How about you take us out to dinner? We've only taken you out every weekend the other 51 weeks of the year. And - now this is a big one - don't use sex as a bargaining tool. That doesn't take effort and is completely mindless. In fact if that's what you're doing I think that makes you a prositute. You're just being paid in gifts and nice dinners as opposed to cash money. I'm sure that strikes a nerve with some of you ladies, but stop for a second and think about why; because it's true. You aren't one of those women are you?
My biggest pet peeve with having Valentine's Day as a holiday is that it gives the impression that February 14th is the one day a year that you're supposed to remind your significant other that you care. That, if you ask me - and you did because you're reading this - is, to borrow from British slang terminology, bollocks. If you care about someone, it shouldn't take the formality of a commercially derived holiday to remind you to show them affection. There are 364 other days in the year. Use them. As Andre 3000 says on his album The Love Below, "Happy Valentine's Day. Every day's the 14th!"
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