The stores are flooded with Valentine gifts of all sorts. It is a highly commercialized moment that is for many, a serious matter. 

I remember my late childhood and adolescent years when the notion of love was a “life or death” reality. I remember the things I bought for a girl I admired and was too shy to give it to her. 

Valentine gifts at that age, was generally a small box of chocolates. Most of the time, I ended up eating the gift myself since I was too inhibited to be forward with a girl.

St. Valentine, the namesake of the celebration, was a priest during the Christian tribulations of the 3^rd Century CE. He was executed by Roman Emperor Auralien in 273 CE for his Christian faith. 

His association with love and friendship did not come about until the publication of Chaucer’s poem The Parliament of Fowls (1382-1382) in the 14^th Century. Chaucer, famous for his short story collection Canterbury Tales (1387-1400) wrote the poem connecting “February 14^th – when birds were believed to pair off – with the celebration of love and mating, creating the tradition of, for instance Valentine’s Day cards and romantic, courtship-based holiday celebrations.”

I have found that love has several faces that we can find in our culture. The most genuine practitioners of this notion are children, young people and those adults that, at least for a moment, let go of their sense of order, because cognition, planning and routine tend to obscure and diminish true personal feelings.

The love most of us are acquainted with is the love of family and by extension, friends, community and country. We practice this version of love in gatherings and ceremonies where we recognize each other’s work for the greater good.

In time of danger to the community, love produces a commitment to its defense and welfare. 9/11 for example, created a general movement to military enlistment offices.

Patriotism that leads to military service comes from a powerful feeling of love for family, community and country. In the face of existential threats, love make a person rush to the flag, the standard that represents everything that we are as a people.

Perhaps the most difficult love to understand and upon which to act is the spiritual belief system that undergirds our religious faith. For most of the country, the teachings of our faith points to a transformative and unconditional love that appears as an unreachable ideal simply because we are human.

In the development of our culture and civilization there is a deliberate tendency to abandon our spirituality because it interferes with the structure of an ordered life. Even our visit to our churches are mostly a matter of ceremony. 

True faith is supposed to be practiced as part of a genuine feeling of love. After all, Christ’s ministry was based on a very unique notion of that. 

According to Chaucer, love is about the birds and the bees. It is a springtime ritual that commemorates the institutionalized nature of couples finding each other.

Love is also about a human journey that does not conclude, can lead to disappointment or worse. The classic Romeo and Juliet story is a lesson in that regard.

The hero in the a love story knows this and is prepared for a love that may be an unattainable concept. Carlos Castaneda’s Don Juan couches it in terms of a journey to Ixtlan where a true warrior takes on the task of getting there knowing full well that he will never arrive.

The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of LaVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.

The national trauma caused by what appears to be the murder of Renee Good by ICE in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, followed by that of Alex Pretti on January 24^th is giving many people in the country a glimpse into the micro elements of a police state. It is a picture of an agency with untrained people for the urban environment and bent on recruiting zealots off the street for the nefarious purpose of intimidation, causing fear and intending to subjugate.

ICE as presently constituted, is so inept that in its operations to search, capture and arrest immigrants, that its agents end up killing American citizens. They also do not seem to shoot straight as it took 3 shots for Renne Good and 10 for Alex Pretti at blank range to do their killing.  

In effect, ICE has introduced the criminal element into its DHS institution. Its ability to disappear people into secrecy on the one hand and a tendency for creating a brawling environment in public on the other, represents the very essence of its increasing dark power.

Its ingredients are a recruited and growing group of intensely passionate people dedicated to a political ideology of righteous superiority of one race over others. The degree of extremism and fanatical manifestation of that belief constitutes the definition of a zealot devoted to that cause.

The misplaced passion and dedication is defined by many in that same group as patriotism. They call themselves patriots because they genuinely believe themselves to vigorously support and defend their country against racial, ethnic and cultural enemies and detractors.

Videos show that the January 6, 2021, attackers of the capitol called each other patriots. This horde, largely convened by the outgoing President of the United States, was really convinced that they were patriots. We must understand that these “patriots” were willing to destroy the people’s house to achieve their aims. The violence in on behalf of Trump, a symbol of their distorted view of a free and democratic America, continues to this day.  Pardoned by the President in the beginning of his second term, they are now on the inside influencing institutions like ICE. ICE’s mission on immigration seems to have lost its focus.

The most important historical moment in the 21^st Century so far is 9/11. America under direct attack was a watershed moment that changed the destiny of many in the country. Most of us know somebody that responded to 9/11 by joining the military and fighting in the wars that followed. One of my family members was a Marine that participated in the invasion of Iraq, and another decided to continue his career in the United States Air Force.

The concept of a hero, an individual that possesses courage, noble character and significant achievement in overcoming adversity for the common good, describes many in our country. Yet the immediacy of war and its life and death struggle can crystallize the idea of a hero to its maximum luster. 

That has been the case with respect to our military and its individual and collective achievements especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. The concept of heroism has not been distorted and remains intact largely because people, including politicians, use it to campaign or get elected. 

Finally, there is a general lack of initiative to confront our social and political divisions and achieve victory in the area for our common good. Success in putting aside differences and accepting the reality of America would be a heroic achievement.

The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of LaVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.