Some people say: “Love is the Answer!” but I think it is more realistic to say: “Love is a problem!” It is a problem because loving has become increasingly difficult. Our contemporary culture is characterized by a gradual loss of feeling, commitment, and conviction. Young people prefer to be “in a relationship” than be in love. “Being in a relationship” has a built-in escape clause. “True Love” has become a seemingly unachievable ideal, considering the high rate of divorce, broken homes, serial adultery, and casual sex.

Love is an act of the will. But our culture has made it very difficult for us to use our will power. Bombarded daily with TV footages of calamities and unsolved crimes, we are overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness. There is a will, but there is no way. Or, there is a will, but the thousand ways available paralyze us into inaction. Or worse, there is a will, there is a way, but things remain the same.

The inability to love dries up our feelings for others and increases our apathy. Ironically, when we are convinced that we cannot affect or genuinely touch another person, we develop a compulsive necessity to touch in the most direct way possible. Thus the prevalence of violence and casual sex.
Contrary to what many believe, terrorism is rooted more in a sense of emptiness and helplessness than in a noble advocacy or cause. Overwhelmed by his impotence to make contact with those who caused his misery, a terrorist resorts to touching them in the most direct way possible. A terrorist’s intent would go like this: “If I cannot affect or touch you, I can at least shock you into some feeling, force you into suffering through wounds and pain; I shall at least make sure we both feel something. This will force you to see me and know that I am here!” Violence is rooted in a person’s inability to articulate his feelings towards others. A terrorist has despaired over the power of words and dialogue.

Casual sex can also be a manifestation of one’s obsessive desire to touch in the most direct way possible. It is a pity that Valentine’s Day is often advertised as a means to achieve this end. And how willingly do young people submit themselves to this expensive but tantalizing ritual! We really tend to run faster when we have lost our way.