This is one of the best things I have ever read. I am not kidding people...GO READ IT!
I am spoiled. I am surrounded by the kind of men who exemplify what she speaks of. I see it constantly in my life. I see it in the men I have met through this blog. I am married to that kind of man. A chivalrous one. I work with that kind of man. I am trained by that kind of man. I am not a child. I am not mesmerized by shiny objects. The men in my life are not perfect. Whether you realize it or they do, I am aware of the dings in their armor, but the core of who they, that shines through so brightly, it is blinding.
Of course, Brigid's words speak to so much more than just the individual. If you don't understand why, you might be part of the problem.
Chivalry isn't dead. I see it all around me, but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find. Our society is intentionally raising men (and women) to have less and less character and then when there is nothing left but empty shells of what amounts to nothing more than lost potential, those same people scratch their heads and wonder why. I say look in the mirror people. Take a long hard look. You are wimpfying our country and eventually it is going do more than just make it difficult to find a mate or a good employee or boss or friend. Soon it is going to destroy us. The results are getting harder and harder to ignore.
Chivalry is not easily defined, but it is obvious when one encounters someone who has it and it is also obvious when someone is lacking it.
Hooah.
ReplyDeleteYour so awesome Monty.
DeleteYep, a GREAT post by the fair Ms. B.
ReplyDeleteShe has skills that one:)
DeleteA good man is ready to die for something worth dying for. These days, there's so little worth dying for. Good men are now expected to sacrifice for the presumptuous and entitled; the helpless are left behind.
ReplyDeleteThat is true. Well said!
Delete...but men are disposable, of course.
ReplyDeleteI read the blog, and cried all the way through it. Then I sent the link to my husband with a thank you because he is my knight.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got a good one.
DeleteWe're out there, and there are thousands of us. You just have to stop looking. It is OUR job to find those who consider us worthy of their companionship.
ReplyDeleteYou are out there! I am not looking, but I am glad I have been "found" by some remarkable people.
DeleteI can't speak to chivalry being dead, as living and working in the DC area is a divorce from reality. But it's values aren't held in high regard by a certain power segment of our body politic.
ReplyDeleteNot dead. Many fine men (and women) out there, but I probably wouldn't start my search in the political arena of DC.
DeleteB. knocks one out of the park again. We are still out here! We do not boast, worry about the latest fashion trends or commensurate on what happened on some prime time TV show with others. For the most part we are taking care of the people we love without fanfare.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Very well said Keads!
DeleteYep...another excellent essay. And for those looking for a knight...you're probably not going to find him hanging around the club scene (there are exceptions to every rule, though). Check the "volunteer" scene. Or the "hitting the local bookstore because I have to get up for work tomorrow and don't intend on showing up hung over" group.
ReplyDeleteAs to not discredit your comment, I won't tell you how I met my husband:)
DeleteThere's exceptions to every rule! In my experience, though, friends who were bar-flies were there for one reason and one reason only. Getting wasted only meant you weren't sure who's house you were in when you woke up the next morning.
DeleteLol, I didn't meet him in a bar and I wasn't a bar fly nor was I looking for a man, but there was some alcohol involved. The first time I actually met him, I was the only sober one in the group. The second time I was smashed. That story is not one for the Internet, but it's a good one.
DeleteThank you my friend, for the link, for getting the word out there. I was raised by such a man. I have three older brothers, all veterans (two Vietnam, one Operation Ivy Bells). I was adopted late in life but rather than being the "princess" I was a fellow "brother in arms" to them and even the oldest ones, old enough to be a parent, not a brother, taught me.
ReplyDeleteI have men in my life like that now. One is my heart, the rest are dear friends whom I share range tables and kitchen tables with. I love all of them. I consider myself beyond blessed, as you do.
I took a nice young lady out on a date while stationed in California. She was 25. This was in the '80s. I opened her car door for her.
ReplyDeleteShe stopped and told me that I was the first man to ever open a car door and hold it for her while she got in.
I told her that she needed to date more Southern men.
You know I just had a conversation a few weeks back with a guy who said the same thing. Many of the women he dates have never been treated like a lady before...ie open doors, pull out chair etc.
DeleteMy man isn't a Southern one he is from the Midwest...they pretty good too:)
(hit submit too soon.)
ReplyDeleteOf course, that's just politeness,not exactly chivalry, but a man's got to start somewhere. And if he can't be polite to a lady, then what else is he lacking?