Corporate Takeover of Chivalry

Indeed, 'tis I once again. As my brother in truth so succinctly stated, Valentine's Day is a tragedy. He spoke of the commercialization of love. I wish to dwell briefly upon what the commercialization of chivalry has done to our society.

Oh bane of all holidays! Chivalrous conduct as a way of life - honorable, wise, charitable, noble, self-sacrificing - all these have been replaced by the allure of a much easier route. Petty gifts with bows and chocolates, flowers, and other such items have been the temptation that has drawn away the weak-willed men of this age. What is worse - women now expect it! The gifts that should be sought - a noble heart given to the trusting care of a caring woman - is now encased in a thin shell of mass-produced chocolate! Just as the flowers wilt and presents are forgotten, so to is this transitory pseudo-love. The gradual indoctrination of society that somehow candy hearts and paper cards are a status symbol has so distracted the masses that reality is shunned. The perpetuation of the ideology that love through such acts is chivalrous or in some way flattering is wholly a mystery.

Lest some in hasty judgment declare that I simply am one of those that has spent another Valentine's Day alone in bitterness, may I emphasize the good that some souls find in even this, the commercialized day of love. While I emphasize my analysis of the commercialization of chivalry, I wish to unequivocally state that those who truly find that noble character within themselves on this day, but hopefully also every other day, and show that character more by actions and their very way of life than by fleeting fancies and gifts aplenty are true men, triumphant over the stigma of society. Emotional maturity is their gift, a noble heart their offering, and internalized spirituality their moral code. They, they chivalrous, truly love what they most admire. They admire those traits that they themselves aspire to.

By and large, they are ignored or unknown this day...and all theirs is but chivalry in the wind...