[Music: “My Friend’s Toyota,” Asiris]
Today is one of the most divisive days of the year. With Valentine’s Day, either you love it or you hate it. You’re head over heels or you’re filled with spite. But I’m here to offer an alternative mindset. How to be an ethical hater, if you will. Or an extended lover. However your glass is filled, half empty or half full, this is my outlook. Every day should be Valentine’s Day.
This topic has changed for me over the years. My first ever piece of journalism came in my freshman year of high school. I wrote an Op-Ed that ripped into an optional Valentine’s Day tradition that my high school had for decades. At the time, I was that spiteful kid. I hated a commercialized holiday and the gift-giving traditions that came with it.
Three years later, though, I signed up for this tradition again, with an open mind to change. As the tradition described, I gave anonymous gifts to a randomly assigned person each day of the week, dropping little hints about who I was. On Friday, I hand-delivered the gift, showing who I was. And honestly, in that moment, I got the hype. And now, five years after I wrote that first story, I’ve grown as a human being. I might still be a V-Day hater, but not for the same reasons.
So, to those of you who relish in the joys and love of Valentine’s Day, let me ask you this: why is this only a job for February 14th? Why is this the day that flower shops and chocolatiers are overrun with business? I, for one, think the world would be a much better place if people treated each other like every day is Valentine’s Day. Why can’t you go get chocolate for your partner on a random Tuesday in June? I sure have. This would make those around you feel happier. It would bring business to florists and local restaurants more consistently throughout the year. And it would bring more kindness into the world, which, let’s be honest, is something we’re lacking.
And now, to the haters, I get it. This holiday feels like a lose-lose. Either you’re lonely and surrounded by PDA on a day that’s come in the dead of Winter, or you’re forced to fork over obscene prices for a gift. On a campus full of broke college students, this is the worst time of your life for an expense like this to come up. But wouldn’t more consistent and casual gestures of love be a better alternative? Walking down Sheridan to see someone with a bouquet of flowers on any old January afternoon would be heartwarming. But being surrounded by pink hearts on buildings, and fliers, and even the dining hall cookies can be a bit much for one day.
It’s undeniable at times that Valentine’s Day is so commercialized. Every brand jumps at the opportunity to sell themed merchandise, whether that’s pink M&Ms or a Bouquet of Roses made from Legos. Frankly, it’s exhausting. The leftover products, the food waste. I like pink too, don’t get me wrong, but too much of anything can be bad.
Not only this, but Valentine’s Day can be just as much about friendship as it is about love. Heck, even wait a few days, buy the products that didn’t sell on clearance, and share them with your friends. The sooner we remove this societal pressure from the holiday being a single-day event, the more we can all enjoy it.
So to the listener, I’d encourage you to entertain me in this exercise. Pick a random number 1 through 31. Now treat that day next month like Valentine’s Day for someone in your life. Take your partner out for a nice dinner. Send flowers to your mother. Remember to do that on May 11th, too. Or even bake some cookies for you and your roommates to enjoy. You don’t need an excuse to do something romantic or to spread kindness into the world.
For WNUR News, I’m Gabe Shumway.
[Music: “Starting To Get To You,” Jensen McRae]
