One four-letter word can change world

Joy of joys, I realize that that pink, red and white day is fast approaching-Valentine's Day, which annually manages to inspire more anxiety, plotting and division around the country than the average political campaign does.

Those without significant others either dash around scheduling dates with the hitherto-unacceptable-now-suddenly-interesting guy or girl or stage solitary sit-ins and strikes with friends in varying shades of despondent pessimism and outward, devil-may-care bravado. Even those with significant others are not without their own share of worries.

The purported day of romance has the dismaying side effect of bringing up uncomfortable questions a couple may not be ready for, all of which revolve around that powerful little four-letter word: love.

Are we in love? Do I have to say it? What if I am and he or she is not? What if I don't know how I feel yet? What is he or she expecting?

And of course, the ever-popular "crap, what is this going to cost me?" When hearts are on the line, the cost could be far more than the price of roses and chocolate.

All of this interpersonal stress and conflict is a far cry from the original intent of Valentine's Day, which has its beginnings in both Roman and Catholic traditions. The day's direct historical connection is to a mysterious patron saint named Valentine or Valentinus, who, according to one story, was a priest during the third century in Rome.

Legend goes that Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for young men, believing that single men would make better soldiers than wedded men. Acting against the injustice of this decree, Valentine performed marriages for young lovers in secret. He was discovered and put to death, reportedly on the date of Feb. 14.

The Catholic Church later canonized Valentine to sainthood for his heroism and commemorated a feast day in his name.

Somehow, this evolved into the circus of pastel candy hearts etched with sugary terms of endearment and all the incessant worrying and/or bitterness associated with that.

Maybe it is time to put away whatever sniping and griping we may have about Valentine's Day and remember why we celebrate it in the first place, most notably by following St. Valentine's example. Valentine lived a life of love, putting himself on the line and making the ultimate sacrifice for the good of others.

His love did not take the form of heart-shaped balloons or generic messages such as "Be mine" but embodied the true spirit of love that Valentine's Day is meant to celebrate-selfless love that is practiced through service instead of whispered in thoughtless sweet nothings.

The world could probably use more of this spirit of love instead of the narrow, rancorous I-don't-have-a-date or he-didn't-take-me-somewhere-nice mind-set. No evil emperors have outlawed marriage, but there are still grave injustices and wrongs everywhere you look.

Violence and drug-related homicides have returned to the hurricane-devastated and increasingly neglected city of New Orleans, dubbed by the New York Times as "the nation's per capita murder capital." Codes of silence reign in neighborhoods where murderers run free in the streets, taking the lives of teenagers and youth in a relentless cycle of anger, hatred and killing that the ill-equipped police are helpless to stop. According to the Metropolitan Crime Commission, as little as 12 percent of homicide arrests end in jail sentences there.

In war-ravaged Lebanon, an estimated one million unexploded sub-munitions, or cluster bombs, left over from last summer's conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continue to kill and maim hapless citizens who have found the innocent-looking objects in their gardens, houses, streets and orchards.

Despite restrictions requiring warring states to refrain from endangering civilians in their munitions usage (translation: people, don't bomb innocents), at least 30 people have died and 180 have been injured by a cluster bomb situation in southern Lebanon that a United Nations Mine Action Service manager calls "the worst I've ever seen. [It's] unprecedented and unbelievable."

There are, of course, no easy answers to these and other terrible situations.

The U.S. is still struggling to move out of a radically unstable and dangerous Iraq, as the "sectarian violence" there approaches civil war (38 more people were killed in a rash of bombings across Baghdad this past Monday) and the death toll of American soldiers continues to rise.

Closer to home, cities and states are looking for answers to high rates of poverty and homelessness and dwindling funds for education, health care and welfare programs.

It would be far too simplistic and naïve to suggest that the world's problems could be solved by love, but it certainly couldn't hurt to try either.

If we entered into the difficult problems, issues and relationships in our world with the same spirit of love that St. Valentine showed-instead of acting out of bitterness, intolerance, bigotry, hatred, partisanship or spite-those same problems, issues and relationships might just become that much less difficult.

Perhaps for this Valentine's Day, instead of just sending cards or dining out, we could honor the day and its martyred saint by actually practicing in our lives more of the love we are trying to celebrate.