It's fascinating watching my Facebook feed today.  (I don't always watch it continuously, but that's what happens when you're grading exams and need a distraction now and then.)

Today, of course, is Valentine's Day.  And the reactions on people's Facebook statuses are curious.

• The married folks, posting photos of their loved ones and making a profession of their love ... even if their loved ones aren't on Facebook and able to read such professions.
• The single folks who wish they were in a romantic relationship, expressing their pain at being reminded of that dissonance.
• The single folks who don't wish they were in a romantic relationship, but hate that they have to fight against societal expectations that "single and happy" is a contradiction.
• The companies, preying upon those in relationships (happy or not), implying that if you don't bring your lover a gift, or take your lover to dinner, or otherwise spend money to express your affection on this particular day, you are damaging your relationship.

I was a child in the 70s.  I remember listening to The Captain & Tennille's landmark song Love Will Keep Us Together.  But, on this Valentine's Day, it seems ironic that talking about romantic relationships as a society only seems to fracture our society into tiny groups:  the happy couples, the insecure couples, the couples who wish they were singles, the singles who wish they were couples, and so on.  It seems like love --- or talking about love --- only seems to drive us apart, not bring us together.