True, Valentine's Day is generally a commercial holiday - one designed by greeting card companies to boost the sale of chocolate and roses nationwide. But the idea behind it is honestly something to admire.
Contrary to what most men believe, Valentine's Day is not about spending money and getting a little somethin' somethin' in return. It is about showing someone that you truly appreciate them - through actions, not through a bouquet that will be dead within the week.
And if you're single, embrace it. I know there are plenty of people in your life who love you unconditionally - this day is for them, too.
A handwritten note, a homemade dinner, an offer to take the garbage out for a change or a $1 shout-out in The Lamron (sorry, had to do it) are all simple things to make this a day to be celebrated and respected, not avoided.
Ignore the hype and take a look at what this holiday is supposed to be: a day of love, as cliché as that sounds. To me, that sounds like something that should be embraced whole-heartedly.
Seriously, it started out as the memorial of a martyred saint, and now it's a day when men are expected to give their significant others chocolate, diamonds, dinner or flowers or all manner of other things.
I'm sure there will be some hate mail for me saying that in this age of politically correct feminism, Valentine's Day is in fact not necessarily a material holiday, but can be a spiritual course of enlightenment for the couple who doesn't succumb to the temptation. To those hate mail senders, I say this: You're wrong.
Valentine's Day has been embedded like Christmas into our minds. It's a social obligation at this point. Imagine getting no presents at Christmas (or Hanukkah). Even if you had called every person you knew and said, for example, "Don't get me any presents this year, Ethel. Just make a donation in my name somewhere," I can almost guarantee you'd be at least a little bit sad that there was nothing to unwrap when the time came.
In the same way, Valentine's Day has become a consumerist trap: men buy women expensive, frivolous and often red things. They are rewarded with love and affection, which usually fades back to normal within a week.
Thus I come to the crux of the advice for my fellow men: pick some random day and pretend it's Valentine's Day. But don't do it on Feb. 14.