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Love: is there anything better in the universe? Love is the rallying cry of every religion on the face of the planet, arguing that our Creator loves us and expects us to share that love with one another (but often only on the condition that they all AGREE on the name and religion of that Creator). Love is the call to arms for anti-war protestors who claim that diplomacy (the open hand of friendship) must always be used instead of war (the closed fist of aggression), even though some of those protestors will choose to use violence to try and achieve their goals. Love is the most common appeal of the Liberal/Progressive, claiming that every law is written for the benefit of the people out of the love of their Representatives in Government, even though every one of those laws may ALSO restrict the Freedoms and Liberties of those very same People. So, from these examples, Love isn’t really about “LOVE.” You could say that it’s about hypocrisy.

Personally, though, I prefer to view love as a matter of respect, and so long as RESPECT is the defining characteristic of Love, then Love is a good thing. Love can’t be about CONTROL. It’s not about forcing everyone to share the same religious views, but being able to Respect each other’s right to choose those views for themselves. It’s not about standing out on the sidewalk picketing a war in progress, but encouraging diplomacy when possible, and supporting the troops when war has been decided to be the only course of action. It’s not about restricting freedom, but EMBRACING it, and respecting each person’s inalienable right to live their lives as they see fit, even if you disagree with the choices that they make. Love is a very CONSERVATIVE emotion.

But this particular post is not actually about the Political aspects of Love, but rather the PERSONAL aspects of it. I’ve said from the beginning that Conservatism is a “Lifestyle Choice.” It is a philosophy that must permeate every aspect of our lives. You can’t be a Conservative politically while abandoning those Principles in your daily life without eventually corrupting and abandoning that Conservatism in all facets of your life. As Samuel Adams put it, “He who is void of virtuous attachments in private life is, or very soon will be, void of all regard for his country. There is seldom an instance of a man guilty of betraying his country, who had not before lost the feeling of moral obligations in his private connections.” In my humble opinion, this is a very POWERFUL observation, and one worth reading again. (Go ahead: we’ll wait.)

Today is Valentine’s Day and, for all intents and purposes, it is nothing more than a marketing campaign by the Greeting Card Companies to get people to go out, buy cards, flowers, candy & jewelry, and make grandiose gestures to those who should already know that you love them. It’s about how much you can spend, how creative you can pretend to be, and how likely you are to get laid. (Admit it: you know it’s true!) But, let’s be rational for a moment: if the person you love doesn’t already know that you love them, then are the words and gifts really going to be worth anything to them on Valentine’s Day? When the gestures are expected out of some sense of obligation, aren’t they just empty rhetoric?

Now, I don’t claim to be the most “Romantic” person in the world, but my wife knows I love her. How does she know? Well, I make a point of telling her every day. I don’t have to send her flowers or candy (and she’d usually prefer I didn’t. They’re really expensive) for her to know how I feel. And if I do choose to send them to her, I prefer to do it when she’s not expecting it. I don’t have to wait for special occasion to make dinner for her, or buy her a gift. She knows I love her because I respect her, and, fortunately for me, she respects me, too. (She’ll even tell me what she wants so I can be prepared when I give her a gift.  No guessing or wasted gifts here.)

So, as you’re reading your card, smelling your flowers or munching on the candy that you could buy at half the price tomorrow, keep this in mind: how you treat each other on Valentine’s Day is meaningless. It’s the other 364 days that really count. Make sure that you show the people you love how you feel every day of the year.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Filed under: Miscellaneous by T. Edwin Perry