It’s that time of year again. Hallmark stores around the country have been stocking the shelves, restaurants are advertising all the great deals you can take advantage of, and Jewelry stores keep reminding us that nothing says “I love you” like something with a diamond (or diamonds) in it. Once again the consumer machine is on the move, but I’m not here to talk about how the big bad MAN is ruining the 14th of February, commonly called Valentines Day. Being a business major I understand supply and demand, and looking for any opportunity to turn a profit. This is how capitalism works. No, I’m here to say its time to change our prospective on how we see this day of “love”.

There it is, that L word. It can mean a feeling so deep you can’t describe it, or something as simple as enjoyment for a person or thing-  “What do you think of your new present? I love it!” A word so overused these days it seems like it has lost all but the most common meaning of enjoyment. However in the original texts of the Bible there were three words used for love.

Eros – this was the lowest form of love, simple passion, or erotic love for another person.

Philos – the second form of love, commonly referred to as friendly, or brotherly love. (Philadelphia is the “City of brotherly love”)

Agape – The highest form of love, unconditional love.

Here in, I believe, lies our society’s problem. With one word, we simply can’t convey the different levels that the idea of “love” entails. With such a broad spectrum we are doomed to overuse, and abuse it. However we won’t be adding new words for love to our dictionary anytime soon, so I encourage you to think about how you use such a powerful word. If we start considering how we are using this word, we may be able to restore some of the meaning. So next time you get something you really like, think about how you show it. Do you really love it?

Sadly this seems to be the new trend for the American consumer. Every year there seems to be more and more deals, and stores are opening earlier and earlier to stake their claim to the post thanksgiving day rush. People are lining up outside stores 8+ hours early to get supposedly “good deals” often on inferior products (they have to get ‘em cheap somehow people). I just want to know how much is too much. When are the American people going to realize that these “deals” just aren’t worth the effort, or will they ever? A man at a smaller town Wal Mart gets crushed to death saving a pregnant woman, because people wanted to save a hundred bucks on a TV?

I wanted to experience this phenomenon myself, so I decided to go to Toys R Us and do a little people watching, they opened at midnight and I figured I would go check it out. I didn’t want to fight the crowds however so I showed up around 12:30. There was still a line a block long outside the store, not willing to wait, even out in the car, I left, but I did talk to a friend who watched as they opened the door, and heard the stories of people who were inside. As midnight was drawing closer a second line began to form going the opposite direction as the first line. You know the type, people who think they can show up and just sneak in the front of the line as people are filing in. Well the people that had waited there for hours didn’t like that at all, and the employees had to form a human barrier to keep these “cheaters” out and eventually called the police. AT A TOYS R US! This isn’t some deal where people are saving hundreds on a TV, people are going for the half priced barbie dolls and the latest Elmo doll.

When the news paper on Thanksgiving day, has more ads than paper, and when a day, supposed to be a day we reflect on how much we’re blessed, is overshadowed by a day devoted increasing our material goods, I think we need to do some reevaluating.  We need to stop worshiping this commercial god by running to stores and fighting each other for a cheap laptop. Otherwise this day will truly become a Black Friday.

I decided I wanted to start my own blog, I’ve been considering this for awhile and finally took the initiative to do it. This most likely wont be a daily thing, I’ll probably have a weekly post. Feel free to continue to check this blog out, its just a simple way to get my thoughts in writing. So enjoy, have fun and comment if you like.