I will not even attempt to define “Love.” In my opinion, Love is as subjective as defining beauty. Matter of fact, I think it is selfish for one to try defining love for others. No one could claim to have identified love, experienced it in all its forms and mastered it to begin preaching its ways. I call these individuals the “Apostles of Love.” Their mission is possibly noble, however, it is one sided and biased by their bitter or sweet experiences. I walked into Barnes & Noble few days ago and while browsing books, I spotted an entire shelve dedicated to Relationships and love. By the way, it is in the self-improvement isle. I collected a few of these books. I didn’t buy them. Yes, I am one of those people who steal away the luster of your newly purchased books. However, I did buy a Large Mocha from Starbucks with extra shots and topped whip cream. Then I found a comfy chair and started flipping the pages.
In two hours of reading, I have learned that I know not a dime worth about love. It appears that am doing it all wrong. Not only that I am wrong for believing in monogamist relationships, I turned out to be a bore. Being boring translates to: not promiscuous, not spontaneous enough, too responsible, being a bad game player or perhaps I am playing the wrong cards like honesty, caring, and trust. These books went on and on selling their idea of Love. At the end, here is the bottom line: Love is out there (sitting next to the American Dream) but for you to get it, you will have to go through hours at the gym, extreme diets, expensive brands, and master the rules of the game or else you will be warming that bench for a long time.
Love became a commodity, an advertising agent, a popular consumer’s item. So we came to view and treat love as a dispensable item just like coffee cups and vacuum filters. People became not the “object of our affection” but merely an object that we use to maximize our satisfaction and once our need is fulfilled or they fail slightly to do so, they are dispensed and replaced. It is the culture of consumerism. In her book All about Love, Bell Hooks, an African American feminist and social activist, emphasizes that “when greedy consumption is the order of the day, dehumanization becomes acceptable.” She also adds that the “media is the primary vehicle for the promotion and affirmation of greed.” It is about quantity not quality and Music Videos stand witness in the trial of Love vs. Capitalism.
