Pro: Are chivalry, valor and gallantry dead in this society?
Without a doubt, chivalry has been long dead. Somewhere between the Women’s Liberation Movement and now, the idea of being courteous toward women dwindled and chivalry became a thing of the past.
Heck! If you ask most men today what chivalry is, they’ll probably think it means “shivery” as in being cold or shaking from a fever.
But the word “chivalry,” taken from the French word “chevalier,” means horseman or knight. The overall concept was that young men would exhibit the qualities of a strong man who was would be honorable and courageous, and would lie down for his country in times of war. Later, it came to be known as possessing gentleman-like or courtly qualities when it came to women.
Taking into consideration all this was during the Middle Ages, chivalry died right along with King Arthur and Don Quixote. There are very few, if any, men who reach to open doors, to carry heavy things, or stop to fix a flat tire for women. If a guy is seen doing any of these things, he’s likely to be laughed at or teased by his cronies.
Unless a chivalrous father has groomed a man, he might only perform such gentlemanly manners to make a good first impression, and generally that’s because he’s got another agenda for the night.
It is obvious in this generation that chivalry is dead.
If a woman is waiting around for her knight in shining armor, he will probably be wrapped with aluminum foil. She’d better not get a flat tire on the road, because the only horseman she’ll likely see is a man in a Ford Mustang doing about 70 mph passing her up.