Hard to believe that less than 70 years ago, people rarely gave diamond engagement rings. Now it is the gold standard by which a man's love and the stability of the relationship is based on. De Beers really did a number on us, because we don't question this idea that a diamond is a symbol of love. We don't question that an engagement ring has to be a diamond, and needs to be as big as the guy can possibly afford. And we don't question that the best stone to buy is a diamond because after all, they're a girl's best friend.

In reality, the fantasy that revolves around the diamond is a scam, an idea concocted by an advertising agency. And that in itself isn't so bad. Many companies brand themselves as fantasy (buy Nike shoes because they will make you a sports superstar). Many companies have also successfully sold very worthless items (pet rock). But what makes the diamond campaign the worse of the bunch is the harm they've done, and continue to do, to make a ton of money in the name of love.

Diamonds have funded civil war throughout Africa, resulting in over 4 million deaths in Angola, DRC, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Ivory Coast. There is blood from lost limbs and lives splashed across every diamond, and we are purchasing them so we can have something shiny to show our friends.

You may have heard that you can ask for some certificate verifying a diamond as conflict-free. The Kimberley Process is an agreement that is supposed to prevent blood diamonds from getting into the market but is pretty useless since it’s based on a system of self-policing. The UN reported in October 2006 that due to poor enforcement of the Kimberley Process, $23 million of conflict diamonds from Cote d’lvoire alone entered the legitimate market. In April 2006 an internal review showed that 49 of 147 Kimberley Process certificates were fraudulent. Besides these fraudulent certificates, real certificates could still be issued if conflict diamonds were smuggled and mixed with legally traded ones before being certified.

Read the full story at Parenting Squad