HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

It is not easy to be a romantic in Saudi Arabia. Read Cox & Forkum's post, Isn't It Romantic.

[Editor's note: Personally I don't fancy red roses because of the connotation to the party symbol of the Social Democrats in Sweden. The good thing is that you could find other colors. How about a gold, silver, or a platinum rose from LoveIsARose.com?]

Robert Tracinski is commenting on the enemies of Valentine's Day.

Muslims are not the only ones opposed to Valentine's Day; so are Hindu fanatics in India. This poorly written report is not clear on why, describing the motivation as a general prejudice against Western influence. But the specific reason for attacking Valentine's Day is not hard to guess: the concept of romantic love contradicts the institution of arranged marriages--and, more deeply, it contradicts a traditionalist culture's premise that the individual must sacrifice his personal happiness for the sake of his family. ...

The common element: the feminists, like Muslim and Hindu fanatics, want to destroy Valentine's Day because it focuses on individual happiness--rather than the subordination of the individual to some "higher good," whether religious, ethnic, or biological. (TIADaily.com, 02/14/05.)

I wrote the following two years ago:

Valentine's Day is celebrated in different ways around the world. But the religious leaders of Hinduism and Islam think the day is a threat to their culture. (EGO, VALENTINE'S DAY, 02/14/03.)

The staff at The Times and Democrat has adapted Dr. Gary Hull's op-ed, Love and Selfishness.

Every Valentine's Day a certain philosophic crime is perpetrated. Actually, it is committed year-round, but its destructiveness is magnified on this holiday. The crime is the propagation of a widely accepted falsehood: the idea that love is selfless. (CNSNews.com, 02/13/05.)

Read Michael J. Hurd's Valentine's Day Reflections.

Valentine's Day is a great way to celebrate a love you already have. But if it's a way to make up for your lack of appreciating your love the rest of the year, you better do some thinking.

A true love relationship is one that is worth celebrating all year long. If your life is better because of your love relationship, then Valentine's Day is nothing more than a way to reinforce, and celebrate, this already obvious fact. (DrHurd.com, 02/14/05.)