Sorry this took me so long to get back to.
Pikachu said:
How do you know that? I am aware of many ancient love stories, but I haven’t seen any that is not ordered by the elite. Where is the proof that ordinary people really believed in this nonsense in ancient times? Maybe you in your infinite wisdom could enlighten me?
To begin, it was only the elite that could afford to read, write or have written any kind of "book" whether it was on papyrus, carved into a clay tablet, written on bone or sheepskin or whatever. So what has come down to us are the stories read by the social leaders. Books, especially ancient ones are not complete documents of daily life, they are snapshots. They are a small slice. Most ancient mythologies are loaded with love stories; clearly people thought enough about it to include love in their stories. The Illiad and Oddessy are love stories with "action sequences" added to fill in between the mushy parts.
People are the same now as they were 5000 years ago and most likely 50,000 years ago. What three things concern them the most once they are fed and safe from harm? Power (control over/within some social context) Wealth (accumulation of what is perceived as valuable) and Love/Sex. Humans fall into love easily and long to be with the ones they love. That's what families are all about. Do you really believe that teen age Roman boys didn't fall in love with every girl that had cleavage and showed it off? Do you really think that the ordinary people of the ancient world didn't pair up based on mutual attraction? Love is a persistent theme throughout human history. The consumer societies of the 20th century did not invent it. There are cases where the government paired people up in mass marriages (Incans and maybe Mao's china), but that was the state trying to control folks. And do you think that such couples didn't cheat on their spouses to spend time with the one they loved down the street?
Have you ever noticed what people will do for love? No one could have invented the totally irrational acts of those who are stricken by love. Love's purpose (if I may so bold) is to force us to act outside of reason. You seem to believe that humans are rational creatures that need to limit or even eliminate irrational acts. You have it totally backward. Humans are irrational creatures that have the capability to act rationally some of the time. When we do so we can accomplish a great deal. Our social structures have encouraged us to do so for the betterment of the group. Totally rational people always think before they act; no spontaneous behavior, no jumping for joy or laughing at jokes. That is not my idea of an ideal person.
You believe that people are different now then they were in the past. There is no evidence that such a statement is true. If you go back 200,000 years, you might have a case. Modern society did not invent love, just realized that they could market stuff by tapping into this deeply ingrained force.
Pikachu said:
It is certainly good for the rich and powerful that the rest of the population believes in love, but love also creates a lot of problems. Lives are ruined, families are broken, people are killed and countless other tragedies happen daily because of love. All this suffering could have been avoided if people only dared to think rationally and reject this irrational love fantasy!
Clearly you have never been in love. I would be willing to bet that anyone who has been in love would risk everything to be in love again/still rather than to be denied love forever. Love is the only thing of real value that is free to all who ask.
