Love is like that new, cool slang everybody starts using. After a period of misuse and prolonged exposure to mainstream media it is devalued, made trite and trivial. The term “love”, as defined by our oh-so-reliable overlord, Google, is “an intense feeling of deep affection” or “to feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment” . Over many years and through continued abuse “love” has decayed into something disgustingly bland and generic. “Ohmigosh Roxanne, I totally LOVE your new boots.” Do I really express feelings of intense passion for dead animal membrane? What does it mean when I claim to love both my car and my wife? Am I really romantically or sexually interested in my personal method of transportation, however sleek and stylish it may be? Perhaps. Do I consistently express “intense feelings of deep affection” to my wife? Perhaps not.
Love, like many of the various forms of slang and cursing one might surprisingly encounter on an excursion to the local elementary school located in a nice, reputable neighbourhood, has been “dumbed-down” and streamlined, designed for widespread use regardless of the occasion. It can be thrown lightly to defuse a potentially lethal case of domestic violence, or to awkwardly acknowledge the departure of that obnoxious fourth cousin whom you would (hopefully) never see again. In its current diluted, pathetic, iteration love is just another corny word. So next time, when you feel obligated to tell someone what you think of them, buy them a present (or punch them in the face, depending on how highly you think of the people in question). After all, talk is cheap, but material objects are not.
To those who are still reading despite the conspicuous, cheesy, closure of the rant:
Please, send me your credit card numbers and bank PINs.
Thanks.
I love you.
