mysterious~fossil~HP~10
Well-Known Member
Many years ago, I first read legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and it started a lifelong obsession with knighthood.
Now it's pretty hard to be a knight as a kid when Santa always forgets to bring you a pony for Christmas, when you live in a republic and can't get an aristocratic title, and when no one in their right mind will give you a real sword. But I decided years ago that if I couldn't have the trappings of knighthood, then even a commoner like I could practice chivalry!
And so for years I've done stuff like hold doors open for people or offer them my seat on the bus because I believed in chivalry. But a recent incident has caused me to question the value of chivalry in our modern world. What good is basic politeness if people think you're looking down on them and being patronizing? What good is loyalty in a world where people will stab you in the back to get to the top? In a world with specially trained professionals like EMTs, police officers, firefighters, and clinical psychologists, what is the value of never ignoring a cry for help if we aren't qualified to answer?
Maybe like Don Quixote we're just tilting at windmills, but this is an issue that I've been pondering lately, and I'd like to hear your take on the matter.
Is chivalry dead?
Is it possible to be chivalrous in the modern age?
Now it's pretty hard to be a knight as a kid when Santa always forgets to bring you a pony for Christmas, when you live in a republic and can't get an aristocratic title, and when no one in their right mind will give you a real sword. But I decided years ago that if I couldn't have the trappings of knighthood, then even a commoner like I could practice chivalry!
And so for years I've done stuff like hold doors open for people or offer them my seat on the bus because I believed in chivalry. But a recent incident has caused me to question the value of chivalry in our modern world. What good is basic politeness if people think you're looking down on them and being patronizing? What good is loyalty in a world where people will stab you in the back to get to the top? In a world with specially trained professionals like EMTs, police officers, firefighters, and clinical psychologists, what is the value of never ignoring a cry for help if we aren't qualified to answer?
Maybe like Don Quixote we're just tilting at windmills, but this is an issue that I've been pondering lately, and I'd like to hear your take on the matter.
Is chivalry dead?
Is it possible to be chivalrous in the modern age?