Chivalry

Much like George Washington's cutting down a cherry tree and then telling his father, "I cannot tell a lie, I did it," I suspect the famous act of Sir Walter Raleigh never happened either. In it, upon walking with the Queen of England, the two came upon a muddy puddle. Supposedly, the English gentleman quickly removed his expensive cape and laid it upon the puddle so that the Queen could walk across it without muddying her equally expensive shoes. It is a tale that, even to this day hundreds of years later, many refer to when giving examples of chivalry. Often at the conclusion of the telling of this incident, one laments the fact the such chivalry these days is non-existent. Maybe. But maybe it does only in different ways. How often, for example, have I heard people in conversation display such acts of selflessnes? A lot. For instance, in my experience I find it fairly commmonplace to be told by another, "Go ahead, finish your thought and then I want to respond to what you are saying." Rarely, again in my experience, do folks purposely talk over each other, interrupt or attempt to verbally bully another. Granted, we see this sort of communication behavior often on television. Guests of opposing views either try to outshout each other or interviewers cut off their guests in mid-sentence so as to inject their comments or questions. My experience is beyond television, this kind of annoying and childish behavior happens infrequently. In many of the so-called news or serious talk or interview shows these days, bad form is encouraged. The thinking is viewers prefer seeing guests and hosts mix it up as it makes for good and entertainig viewing. My point here is that such action does not represent the "norm" of interaction between folks, even those having a disagreemnt. As imperfect communicators, people tend to lean on the side of chivalry as opposed to borishness. Generally, we are a lot more polite" and respect then we are given for.