V-Day

This little post, originally published at National Review in 2003, has elicited more positive reaction than almost anything else I've published online. Here it is, reprised again. I will observe my own personal Valentine's Day this coming June, on the 25th anniversary of the day on which I first laid eyes on my future wife.

I’ve never liked the Valentine’s Day holiday. Our culture celebrates romantic love morning, noon, and night 364 days a year – and then sets aside one special day every February to really rub the lovelesses’ noses in it. Not so nice. So: if you are lucky enough to have a sweetheart, of course you must kiss her (or him) today. But if you want to do a good deed, give a thought to the many lonely people around you: the divorced, the widowed, the unlucky – and maybe, if you have a spare dollar or two, you might want to send a small anonymous bouquet to one of them. Oh – and send it to the office, where everybody can see.