Round 1
Side 1:
While the platonic love we feel for family and friends is an important part of a happy life and good for our mental and emotional well-being, romantic love deserves a celebration simply because it’s less common. Yes, plenty of people have romantic connections, but if you look at how many platonic connections a person has compared to romantic ones, the platonic relationships are usually much more frequent and long-lasting. Part of this may be because we have higher standards for romantic relationships than other types of human connections, but part of it is just that it requires a higher level of compatibility. You can get along with a friend or family member who doesn’t have a lot in common with you and you can still love them, but romance means more intertwining of lives, which means more relationship work. Because it takes more work, the success is all the sweeter and thus, it deserves to be celebrated for the special closeness that comes with it.
Side 2:
Yes, romantic love is a special bond between two compatible people of incredible closeness, but platonic and familial love is not celebrated enough. There are not any significant days like Valentine’s Day and platonic love is overlooked because of it. Yes, a person can have many friends and tons of family members but to develop an unbreakable bond is equally, if not more, rare than romantic ones. These bonds, just like romantic love, can last a lifetime and carry as much emotional attachment as a romantic relationship. However, this is not celebrated in the slightest. “Love” is always expressed as being a romantic feeling but the love between friends or family members is just as grand.
Round 2
Side 2:
A best friend and a significant other are two very different people. However, they do have similar bonds and connections. Studies support the idea that strong platonic relationships can help us develop steady, healthy romantic relationships. If this is the case, if platonic love is at the base of this love pyramid, why is it not seen as such, since it is crucial to have and maintain these bonds? They help us develop emotionally and begin to set building blocks of seeing new perspectives and how to communicate effectively. They motivate us and hopefully push us to be better. They teach us how and when to create boundaries and how and when to make compromises; both of which are especially crucial in the case of romantic love.
Side 1:
It’s true that platonic bonds are incredibly important to a person’s well-being and happiness, and healthy habits in platonic relationships can definitely help improve romantic relationships. After all, they say that a significant other should be a best friend as well as a romantic partner. There is no denying platonic love’s importance. However, the proverb about lovers being best friends also has another meaning. It means that a romantic relationship is like a platonic relationship multiplied by two. It is more intense, more in-depth and more interwoven than a platonic relationship. Romantic relationships are meant to make people close enough to be considered almost a single entity when facing the world, which, while possible, is not something that occurs as frequently in friendships. It is these facets of romantic love that make it worth celebrating so much; though platonic relationships deserve lots of celebrating and appreciation, they don’t deserve quite as much as romance does.
