I’m a hypocrite. Tonight I will be taking my lady-friend out to a nice dinner that I actually had to make reservations for. I bought flowers. My clothes will not have holes in them. I washed my hair this morning. It’s going to be perfect. I hate Valentine’s Day and everything it stands for; but, I’ve been looking forward to this night for weeks. I guess I just mean to tell all of you saps that I understand you, I’m one of you. We’re still wrong.

First, I don’t like to be manipulated. I don’t like being manipulated by advertisers and I don’t like being manipulated by society, and that’s all Valentine’s Day is: corporate manipulation. Valentine’s Day is Hallmark’s dream. One hundred ninety million greeting cards will be sold today. More than Christmas. More than New Years. The greeting card industry isn’t the only corporate interest that tries to monopolize on insecure relationships. Since the 1980’s the diamond industry has been pushing this day to increase sales.

And why? Why do we feel the need to display extravagant affection on a prescribed day of the year? The answer is simple: it excuses us the rest of the time. Valentine’s Day is the ultimate testament to our laziness. When we can pick one day to focus on our significant other, we can pick all of the other days to focus on what we truly love, ourselves. The very idea that we have a Valentine’s Day shows that we don’t feel the need to love each other all year round. But then again, this is coming from someone who is currently wearing a suit coat.