Chivalry, Real and imagined.

I recently participated in a small discussion on whether or not chivalry was dead. As my former teacher Blake Moser would say, 'DEFINE!'. What do me mean by 'chivalry'. If we are referring to the code of conduct popularized by the Arthurian Romances written under Eleanor of Aquitaine, in which the knight is essentially the slave of all ladies he happens to come across, I would hesitantly agree that it is dead. I hesitate because I'm not sure if the thing was ever properly alive.

If on the other hand we refer to chivalry as simple good manners such as opening the door for a lady, giving up our seat on a crowded bus, paying when we go on a date, etc., then I think chivalry, while not in perfect health, is a ways from the grave. If I may be allowed to brag a bit, at Texas A&M, I see such acts on a regular basis.

But why would we even ask the question, why would we care about the health of chivalry? I believe that it is certainly ailing, and is under assault by many of the ideas and mindsets of today.

1. First, young men have to a degree, ceased to look at young women as equals who should be protected and valued for who they are. Sexual and emotional desires are the main reasons that young men pursue young women, and such desires leave no room for the selflessness that chivalrous behavior is an indicator of.
2. Second, many women have demanded that they be treated 'just like men'. That is about as reasonable as the Air Force demanding that they be treated like the Marines. Both services have vital missions, but to give the Air Force the kind of funding and equipment that the Corps lives on would seriously impair its ability to perform its mission, they need high tech equipment, millions of research dollars, and high flying planes. The Marines need rifles, bayonets, and some food every once in awhile. Men and women are equals, but they are not interchangeable.

Chivalry is a Christian institution. To Islam, a man opening a door for a woman is unthinkable. To naturalism a man opening a door for a woman is pointless unless the man is trying to get her into bed. Christianity gives both the man and the woman the inherent worth that makes such behavior honorable to both. Neither party is demeaned when chivalry takes place. The man is honored by his performance of it, and the woman is honored, for the man sees her as worth of such service.