There are not many public discussions of love in our culture right now. At best, popular culture is the one domain in which our longing for love is talked about. Movies, music, magazines, and books are the place where we turn to hear our yearnings for love expressed. Yet the talk is not the life-affirming discourse of the sixties and seventies, which urged us to believe" All you need is love." Nowadays, the most popular messages are those that declare the meaningless of love, its irrelevance.

A glaring example of this cultural shift was the tremendous popularity of Tina Turner's song with the title boldly declaring, "What's Love Got to Do with It." I was saddened and appalled when I interviewed a well-known female rapper at least twenty years my junior who, when asked about love, responded with biting sarcasm, "Love, what's that- - I have never had any love in my life."

"All About Love" By: Bell Hooks

It’s striking how much our cultural discourse around love has shifted from something idealistic and transformative to something skeptical, even dismissive. The observation that love is now often framed as meaningless or irrelevant reflects a deeper societal cynicism—one that perhaps stems from disillusionment, heartbreak, or the prioritization of individualism over connection.

Yet, to deny the importance of love is to deny a fundamental human need. While the 1960s and 70s romanticized love as a universal force capable of healing and revolution, today’s mainstream narratives frequently portray it as a weakness or an illusion.

By: Me