I haven't written for a while. I guess I felt that the blog was stealing stuff that should be in my journal at home. That's more permanent anyway. And who is going to read his blog? Who does? But I sit and write anyway.

Romanticism v. Rationalism...which side do you stand on? Or is it absurd to even consider that you must stand on one side? Who thinks completely rationally and who merely follows their emotions? But if it is a matter of degree, I think I belong to rationalism. I can be a pretty romantic guy, but I follow my thoughts more than I follow my feelings.

Romanticism can be absurd. Take Romeo and Juliet for example. A very Romantic story. But competely irrational. Two people meet, get married, have sex, and then kill themselves, all in three days. Anyone who would throw their life away because of someone they met three days before is mindless. All it is is lust! But there's something to be said for the story too. It keeps us from thinking that life is all about, "What do I get out of it?" Never mind. I don't agree with that. It actually is a very selfish act that they kill themselves. "Oh, I can't go on without her!" Wait a second, would she want you to kill yourself? Not if she really loved you. She would want you to live a long, prosperous life, right? Romeo and juliet are only considering their own feelings. And their "love" is merely lust. That is an undeniable fact. What is love? Love is caring for someone so deeply that you will do anything for them. But loving someone to the point that you want to marry them involves knowing them. And getting to know someone involves something more than kisses, sweet words, and a bed. How many couples on their 50th anniversary tell you that they got married a day after they met? How many successful relationships come from a boy asking a girl to kiss him as soon as he sees her? When you see a girl, or guy, do you automatically see that they have all the qualities needed for a good marriage? Or are you merely attracted to them because of the physical aspect? Isn't it obvious? Why did Romeo "love" Juliet? Because she was beautiful. Physical attraction is lust. And that is all Romeo and Juliet ever felt for each other. They never knew each other. Not mentally or emotionally. Many would argue with me. Why does love have to automatically be associated with marriage? That's simple. Because people mate for life. People who jump from marriage to marriage are not happy. How come depression has increased with the divorce rate? How come suicide rates are up? Our entire society's view of love is based on the ideas of a man who married a woman many years his senior and who was already pregnant. Am I passing judgement and saying Shakespeare was a bad man? I believe that Shakespeare was a product of his times and his station in English life. His own morals are based on those of his society. But that means even more so that our understanding of love should not follow his. Nor on those of our own society. Because many people do, however, many marry for lust and the marriage falls apart. That is the best reason, the most widespread fo the rising divorce rates. Yes there are other factors, considering divorces have been occuring for most of recorded history, but today there are many more and something has to account for this.