Chivalry is Not Dead...Yet

Recently, while on the telephone, my boyfriend recounted an interesting experience to me that left me frowning with my mouth hanging open, uttering a "no way" here and there throughout the story.

He proceeded to tell me about how a few days ago he encountered a group of seven college students, in Atlanta Georgia , a mix of both young men and young women, and as he held the door open for one of the young ladies, he announced to her, "Chivalry is not dead."

She turns to him and says, "What? Chivalry? What is a chivalry?"

The six other young students started laughing. Not at the girl for ignorance of the medieval reference, but at my boyfriend for using the great big mythical word. They commented, "Chivalry? This dude over here making up words."

Instead of smugly snorting, shaking his head and saying, "never mind," he proceeds to inform the young seven students that chivalry described the qualities expected of a knight including courage, generosity, and courtesy, particularly towards women. He also asked them, testing them out, if any of them had any "fiscal responsibilities." Well, that was a wrap. They had no idea in the world what the word fiscal meant, so of course he goes on to hip them as to what he was referring to, along with their futures, and learning to think for themselves.

I recommended that he not judge them too harshly, because as I began thinking more about it, I didn't learn the word chivalry until I was in high school. These people he was mentoring were only 18 and 19 years old. Still pretty fresh out of high school. Maybe they would have learned it soon. Or maybe this was exactly when they needed to learn it, and my boyfriend was simply the messenger.

The next day this experience stayed with me, and the uncomfortable laughter of these young adults at their own ignorance started shedding light on things. For some reason we, as society, are a bit skimpy on teaching our boys how to be gallant and chivalrous these days. This would explain the foul language freely spewing out of their mouths in the presence of children and walking into establishments in front of me without bothering to hold the door open. As a matter of fact, many times, I think I am more chivalrous than many young men.

If we are not teaching chivalry to our boys and young men, than chivalry is on the endangered quality list. And though chivalry is not dead yet, in a few years it will be. So in honor of the honorable men who do and ever did exist I recommend the execution of a campaign to save chivalry from sure death. We at least owe it to our nieces and daughters - don't we?