Cupid, Draw Back Your Bow

There was a request in the comments to discuss Valentine's Day, so I'll knock this one out real quick. Valentine's Day doesn't piss me off the way it does some people, but I do think it's sort of lame. If you're in a relationship where things like flowers and candy are important, you should be doing that stuff anyways. If you're not in a relationship where that kind of thing is important, you shouldn't be forced to make some half-ass attempt at buying a dumb Hallmark card and picking up the cheapest flowers you can find to satisfy some basic minimum. Valentine's Day is just to sell a bunch of goods. It's one of the worst "Day"s around. I'd even say it's worse than Arbor Day, because people at least plant trees that day, and that's good for the air and the environment as a whole. Please keep in mind I am not against gifts or nice romantic dinners or flowers or any of that. But you shouldn't need a specific day for that.

It's instructive to draw a distinction here between Valentine's Day and a holiday like July 4th. It's probably somewhat counter-productive to spend time every day thinking about our nation's independence and the political machinations and military battles that led to us being an independent country. No one expects you to think about that every day, that's patently absurd. But one day a year is kind of nice. On the other hand, if you only honor your relationship or marriage once a year - that too is patently absurd.

I'm sure some of you out there are saying, "Hey Eric, no need to get all worked up here. I don't neglect my boyfriend / girlfriend / husband / wife, but it's nice to set a day aside that's more special." I don't disagree with that concept, but I don't see why we should all be doing that on the same day. Let's redo Valentine's Day. Every couple can choose when their "Valentine's Day" is. That way you get the benefits, without the catty comparisons of whose boyfriend did nicer things on Valentine's Day, or single girls screaming at me that Valentine's Day is a giant crock of shit meant to make them feel terrible and want to cry all night. I think my way sounds better.