as a society we are embarassed by love. we treat it as if it were an obscenity. we reluctantly admit to it. even saying the word makes us stumble and blush.. love is the most important thing in our lives, a passion for which we would fight or die, and yet we're reluctant to linger over its names. without a supple vocabulary, we can't even talk or think about it directly.
chapter one begins with the above quote from diane ackerman.
this is an achingly beautiful book. it's for those who persist in dreaming of love. differently.
one of the ironies of the culture of greed is that the people who profit the most from earnings they have not worked to attain are the most eager to insist that the poor and working classes can only value material resources attained through hard work. of course, they are merely establishing a belief system that protects their class interests and lessens their accountability to those who are without privilege.
hooks talks about how america has 'privatized' family, "most world citizens do not have, and will never have, the material resources to live in small units segregated from larger family communities."
she illustrates how our culture has elevated the search and seizure of a romantic partner above all other loving relationships.
many of her observations had profound meaning for me - but nothing touched me as her commentary on 'loving into death.' our society encourages isolation in both the process of dying and grieving, "we are taught to feel shame about grief that lingers." she repositions grief as an expression of passionate loving. in a society that resounds with the importance of remaining unfettered in all dealings especially love. she reminds us that our most passionate relationships sometimes portend a commitment beyond life unto death.
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