I thought I would write a special post to celebrate the release of the new Call of Duty game. Although, celebrate probably isn't an appropriate word.
No, I'm not going to bash the game. As far as I'm concerned, Call of Duty is a great game. I don't own it, though I have played it several times with friends. I guess the real question here is... What is this doing on a blog about the heart?
Well, has anyone ever been on Facebook? If you have (a bit of sarcasm there for ya), you've probably seen some of those groups that say, in some form or another, that guys should spend less time playing COD, and more time with their girlfriends.
I used to see them all the time. There has been a distinct lack of them lately, but I'm sure that they will make a strong comeback with the new game.
Either way, I've been thinking for a while about the implications of such groups. The way I see it, these groups are only half right.
First, lets give them credit. This is a legitimate topic. Lets be honest, there are a lot of guys out there who have, at some point, placed video games of some sort as a higher priority than the person they supposedly love. And, lets again be honest. This is a very despicable practice. I mean seriously? Putting a bunch of pretend achievements over something as real as love? Gimme a break.
I know how some games are. I've played my fair share of games, and many of them can get to the point where they are quite addicting. So, if anyone thought that I was trying to paint myself as perfect when it comes to this issue, there you go. I am happy to say, however, that I would never, and could never, put a video game before someone that I truly care about.
With that said, I mentioned another side to this argument.
This rarely seen side is at least partly to blame for the consequences of this supposed "epidemic" of ignorance.
The real question I have is... (posed to all girls with this type of complaint), if a guy is willing to place video games above you in priorities, then why are you falling for him in the first place? I mean seriously... at least fall for a guy who has his priorities straight.
Ok, I'm done ranting. But seriously... the real "epidemic" here is the obvious problem of people (not just girls) falling for those who aren't willing to make them a top priority. Now, I'm not going to say that it is easy to control who you fall for. I know from experience that this is usually out of anyone's control. However, I am saying that the heart can be persuaded to fall for someone or not. Perhaps I'll go more into depth on that at a later date. However, it is important to consider the other person's personality traits when deciding whether or not to allow yourself to fall for someone.
In the end, there are few inexcusable things in a relationship. And putting video games (or anything else imaginary) before a significant other is one of those.
In general, a significant other should be one of the top priorities of anyone in a relationship. The only exceptions to this rule are family, and if you're religious, God. Anything less, and one needs to seriously consider if the other person would actually be willing to put their all into a relationship. If not, then the relationship is most likely a waste of time. At some point, situations will always emerge that will test priorities in relationships. And while a boyfriend ignoring his girlfriend to play Call of Duty might not seem like a big deal, it really does reveal some major insight into a person's character, and helps to determine where his values lie.
Once again, I'll go to the other end of the spectrum.
That doesn't mean, however, that if a significant other ignores you once for some reason that their priorities are all messed up.
I'll give one of the most-heard examples among guys... the girlfriend who just HAS to have a serious conversation... in the middle of the ball game.
There are obviously two sides to this one, and the guys do have a good point here. The game is only on every so often, and why girls want to pick game time as the time to have important conversations is beyond us. The guys are obviously prioritizing the game at that moment, which is indeed wrong to do. However, the girls who pick game time as discussion time are also in the wrong. To me, it seems like mind games. I mean, why not choose the time when the guy is going to have priority issues? Or during the game that is only one once per week? True, it is wrong for anyone to prioritize something like television or video games over someone as important as a boyfriend or girlfriend. However, it is also wrong for the other person to attempt to draw out such weaknesses. In legal terms, this is referred to as entrapment. (See? A bit of legal trivia for you!)
Obviously, repeated poor prioritizing can signal a bad relationship. In the case of Call of Duty, this is often a repeated thing. The difference between the two types of bad prioritizing that makes video games much worse than the ball game is that... the video games will always be there to play. The ball game is only on once or twice a week. Granted, I'm not going to sit here and say one sin is worse than another but... when someone wants to take time out of their schedule to watch something on television once or twice a week, that is understandble. Someone who is consistently ignoring a significant other in order to get more kills on COD, is not.
In the end however, both sides remain at fault. So, for all the girls out there creating Facebook groups for the sole purpose of getting mad at thier boyfriends for choosing Call of Duty over them, just remember... you chose them in the first place. And there are plenty of guys out there that would be more then willing to devote everything to you. As I have said before, and will continue to say, you just have to look in the right places.
