10 February 2011

Thoughts on Valentine's Day

This is probably going to sound pretty crazy coming from a woman that's never been spurned on the day, but I cannot stand Valentine's Day. Seriously?  I think it's one of the sorriest excuses for a holiday that's ever been.  You want to celebrate something?  Let's make a bigger deal out of Earth Day.  Lots of times Earth Day comes and goes with nothing but a whimper of 'save the planet.'  Not that I'm, you know, a psycho environmental advocate, it's just one of the many other much more important holidays that goes by and doesn't get nearly as much attention as Valentine's Day.  Veteran's Day.  I give a far larger shit about Veteran's Day than I ever could for Valentine's Day.  Even give me D-Day.  I'd celebrate D-Day in a heartbeat over Valentine's Day, but maybe that's just the nerd that lurks inside.

You know what else I can't stand about Valentine's Day?  The women who base their entire first quarter of the year focusing their efforts on what they want their significant other to do for Valentine's Day.  What they want for Valentine's Day.  What swanky restaurant they want to go to for Valentine's Day.  HOW FUCKING DISAPPOINTED THEY'LL BE IF THE DAY ISN'T JUST SO.  



Many women like this have great significant others.  Significant others who cherish and love them and do for them the other 364 days out of the year.  Significant others who probably worship these empty-headed fools, and you know what?  If that otherwise 'perfect' significant other happens to drop any sort of ball on the sacred holiday known as Valentine's Day?  Forget it - a year's worth of good actions have automatically been negated.  

It's amazing how fast the empire can fall, guys.  



In case you couldn't tell, I don't buy Valentine's Day.  I think it's just another way for the corporations and the media to get a stronghold on our checkbooks, self-images, and interpretations of  The Things That Really Matter.  My husband and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day.  Not cards, not flowers, not special dinners out that we shouldn't be spending money on anyway - we celebrate our love 365 days out of the year, and I'll be damned if someone that's not directly involved in my relationship will tell me that any one day in particular is more important than the rest.  Some might be less eventful, sure, but in the grand scheme of things, do we want to be remembered - or remember ourselves - as those who just never stopped comparing the things we were lucky enough to have to the things we had the potential of having? 


Not me, that's for damned sure.