Valentine’s Day is upon us once again, and that means guys scrambling for chocolate and girls buying musky cologne in an effort to display some meager affection.

Like most American special days, Valentine’s Day has become wholly commercial. It is dominated by a consumer-driven attitude that believes one must shower another with materialistic trinkets to illuminate one another’s fondness.

People buy each other meaningless crap when they don’t love each other, and they feel that it is out of obligation because of some non-existent Valentine’s Day rule. With that said, this isn’t going to be a tirade about the evils of a capitalist Valentine’s Day and the bogus affection that is thrown around like a middle school quad. This is a plea to love each other every day, and realize that it doesn’t take a holiday to motivate us to be amorous.

I don’t need a day to tell me when I should or shouldn’t say how much I care for my significant other. If there is something that I know she has wanted, like some crappy trinket, I will buy it for her. It seems too many only relegate the love to this day. What we all need to realize is that love doesn’t need a day. It is spontaneous in nature, and likewise it should be expressed that way. When that overwhelming feeling of butterflies takes you, tell her (or him.) If we wait for a day to articulate those feelings, they will pass altogether.  Although we should love each other every day, for some people expressing love is a very hard thing to do. Either they can’t say it, show it, or they are just oblivious to their feelings about a person. Let’s not forget about outright fear. Love can be a scary thing.

This is a day where anyone, regardless of his or her expertise in showing affection, can feel that a gesture toward a loved one won’t be judged or deemed inappropriate. If it takes some false construct for a person to eliminate their fears, then so be it. This Valentine’s Day, however far it has strayed from its true intent, allows a majority of people to do these things. As long as these people are showing each other love at least once a year, it is better than them never showing love at all. The moral of the story, show your love whenever you feel it. If you hate Valentine’s Day, the only way to eliminate it is by doing this.