Love is a Battlefield Of all of the subjects that we as humans focus on, love has always been the most prevalent. From the books, plays, poetry, and music of years past, we have concrete proof of our fixation on the concept of love, be it romantic, unrequited, or tragic. I’ve always connected with the words of Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who said: “For one human being to love another, that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks…the work for which all other work is but preparation.” The author speaks to how difficult love can be, both in finding it, keeping it, and even losing it. Or even in how others might view one’s relationship. It has not always been as easy as it is now to love freely and openly, and even now some are persecuted for disregarding the beliefs of many and instead following their hearts. Though times have changed and some aspects of life and love have improved dramatically, such as a much smaller amount of arranged marriages and the acceptance of interracial couples, the recent near-approval of divorce and the ongoing fight for marriage and rights for gay and lesbian couples proves that love continues to be quite the battlefield. Arranged marriages have been around for many centuries, though it used to be much more prevalent among the wealthier and higher-ranking families. Monarchs would agree upon a contract when their children were but toddlers, insuring that both parties would be marrying another of equal standing, and keeping their bloodlines strong and pure. Many of these children grew up and were forced to live lives that they did not agree on, thrust into loveless marriages and obligated to produce heirs to ensure the lines survival. Many tried to run, and some were punished harshly for their crimes. Only in recent decades have some sovereignties accepted commoners into their midst, notably with the Princess Diana, and now followed by Duchess Katherine. The fight for the freedom to marry one of your own choosing has been won in all but a few remaining countries, and even there, it continues to gain ground. Another field of love’s battle is the one for interracial relationships and marriages. Though they were briefly accepted in colonial times, the introduction of African American slavery abolished them completely. Whites were not to be seen associating themselves with a race now seen as their lessers. If a man took a slave as his lover, he was ostracized and the woman was often beaten for trying to reach above her place. There were a few free-thinkers in the bunch that disagreed though, Thomas Jefferson among them. It was thought that he began a relationship with one of his own slaves, Sally Hemings, one that may have produced six children in it’s time< http://www.monticello.org/site/plantation-and-slavery/thomas-jefferson-and-sally-hemings-brief-account >. Unfortunately, society didn’t catch up until the civil right movement in the mid to late 60’s, when the anti-miscegenation laws were found unconstitutional. It was a long and violent fight, but one that was conquered and has opened a door to the multi-cultural world we live in today. Unfortunately, love is a battle that is not always won. Divorce was once a concept that would get one excommunicated, as Henry VIII was from the Roman Catholic Church after his divorce of Catherine of Aragon, prompting him to