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Chivalry Is Dead
My wife and I attended the University of Utah at the same time. She graduated at the very top of her class in pharmacy. I graduated firmly nestled in the middle third of my mechanical engineering class. Before we married, she was supremely independent. If she couldn’t figure out how to do it on her own, it generally wasn’t worth doing.
Fast forward 21 year. We are co-dependent people (in a good way). From the time we started dating until now, I’ve tried to open the door for her, give her my jacket when she’s cold, hold her hands to warm them up, and even let her press her popsicle-feet against my legs at night.
Some people call me old fashioned. In the past, I’ve traveled a lot for work. When I wasn’t home, she defaulted back to extraordinary independence. When I came home, it was back to relying on each other for all kinds of things.
I also know when to step aside and simply let my wife do her thing.
In the last few decades, there has been a sentiment growing and gathering steam that chivalry is a bad thing. Let’s take a look at it with as much objectivity as we can.
In feudal societies, kings and lords had knights. These were people the ruler kept close who were good at defending the king and his interests. Chivalry was the blending together of qualities expected of ideal knights, particularly courage, honor…