Love

Act 2 Scene 4 - Love

(it's night, and there is a light fog. The Smoker paces.)

TS: Marx was wrong, y'know.
C: About what?
TS: Religion isn't the "opiate of the masses". Love is.
C: Love?!? That's a bit cynical don't you think.
TS: Maybe. But hear me out: Love, particularly romantic love, convinces people that they are happy on some absolute level. This causes them not care about what happens to them, what their government is doing, or even what they're going to do with their lives, as long as they get to spend it with this other person. It totally sedates us.
C: I think that's bullshit. And I think you know it. Love drives us to find, and obtain, what is best for our Other.
TS: Maybe. But there is still something to it opiating people.
C: You know what I think? I think you just really like the phrase "opiate of the masses", and wanted to use it, but couldn't find anything better than religion.
TS: ...
TS: Fair enough.

(Cigarette quietly burns itself out. The Smoker exits.)