We are inundated, overwhelmed, and irretrievably smitten by thoughts of love. We are made willing and vulnerable to the images, words, and expressions of love in the popular media and the day-to-day culture that surrounds us – movies, television, popular music, advertising, social media, food, sports, clothing, many popular and unpopular causes and so many other things have all become a kind of subliminal programming for the modern culture of love.
Love really sells. Everything from diamonds to diapers to pizzas, to pet food. More than anything, the material world has discovered something in us. It’s either a buried treasure or a ticking time bomb, embedded deep, deep in our personal foundations. Regrettably, it’s an involuntary response, sometimes quietly seductively, sometimes intensely gratifying, and almost always a confirmation of one of our most powerful vulnerabilities. We are motivated by the possibilities and fantasies that are the promised rewards of the search for love.
We are surprised, even shocked sometimes, at the lengths to with which we will go to experience what the modern culture of love promises us.