Thank you feivel. Ok, let’s get back to the topic. In my opinion, the act of kriah is the physical act (ma’aseh)corresponding to the emotional anguish of seeing Har Habayis bechurbonoh. The emotional feeling is expressed in the act of tearing one’s clothes. If one is not in anguish, or let’s stretch a little and say is absolutely thrilled to be in Yerushalayim for the first (or second or more) time, and is naturally enthralled by the kosel and the view etc…, then the act of kriah loses it’s emotional partner. This is not to say necessarily that it is meaningless or that the mitzvah without the proper kavanah is worthless. However, the intent of the act is really the major aspect of the mitzvah and the ma’aseh is only the expression of it.
I heard from a reliable source (I choose to omit some names, I do not have their permission)that Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l once was asked about kriah on a niftar (not a relative)during a period of time when kriah is not supposed to be done. The person asking told Reb Shlomo Zalman that he did not tear on that day, should he do it at a later date. The answer was no. On a later date the intense anguish that would require kriah is no longer there and therefore no “delayed kriah” is indicated. This idea is is similar to what I wrote above.
What we see is that the various opinions on the chiyuv kriah nowadays can all be understood depending on how much one views the chiyuv as relating to one’s anguish when one sees Har Habayis bizman hazeh. Since we undoubtedly have a certain degree of control, and one can claim that Yerushalayim is not totally bechurbonoh, then maybe there is no chiyuv, the anguish is not paramount in one’s feelings. However, if one maintains that the chiyuv kriah is independent of one’s feelings, and/or that as long as there is no beis hamikdash then yerushalyim is bechurbonoh, then the chiyuv kriah still exists.