To me, love is a choice, a verb rather than a noun.

Even with children, parents can very much choose *not* to love them, even though this "choice" is more or less universally reviled.

Love is a choice, a choice to put the needs and interests of the beloved before oneself.

It's on the wane, in my view, in part because of the rise of the cynicism culture that Brian mentions, but also in part because of the individualist culture that has arisen. We're all encouraged by the culture, the laws, the economic system, even our families in some cases, to "look out for number one", first and foremost. Of course, that's not a horrible thing, but when it becomes excessive, it leads to a kind of ingrained solipsism or even narcissism -- and both of those inhibit the formation of habits that can enable a person to make the choice to love another.