"If you have to tell people you're a lady...you aren't." -Margaret Thatcher
"Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage." -Theodore Roosevelt
The interconnected world of modernity appears to be putting a new spin on the old adage that "familiarity breeds contempt." The kind of "contempt" we face (we encourage?) nowadays is perhaps best described as casualness taken to extremes. The circumspection, courtesy, grace, poise, and modesty in speech and dress that we afford respected individuals appear to decline dramatically as we become more "familiar" one with another.
And we are familiar, aren't we? So familiar that we grow relaxed and careless towards our fellow man. A quick perusal of blogs, Facebook photos, tweets and "status" updates reveal 30 year-old men still wearing baseball caps backwards...wives complaining of post-pregnancy stretch marks...girls thoughtlessly calling each other "hot"...boys who still haven't learned the art of shaving...individuals updating all of us on their latest meal, their latest sickness, their latest relationship (or lack thereof), their latest private news; in other words, their latest lapse in tact.
In some lonely rest stop along the information superhighway leading to a world of ultimate global socializing, we appear to have misplaced basic, uplifting social graces. Adrift in a digital sea of "modern" data and knowledge, we seem quick to cut ourselves loose from the anchor of traditional wisdom. We have become so familiar, so casual, so careless with the important relationships in our lives that we have replaced "gentlemen" and ladies" with high-on-ambiguity, low-on-responsibility, unisex "guys."
But for those who seek fidelity to their own gender identities and complementary roles as sons and daughters of God, we have the outstanding examples of parents, neighbors, friends and siblings who are quick with an uplifting phone call, an encouraging email, a treasured (and tastefully shared) photograph...though they may be continents away. We enjoy worlds of guidance and encouragement at our fingertips, of which the following two articles are but the smallest sampling:
"The Death of Pretty" http://www.ncregister.com/blog/the-death-of-pretty
"Gentlemen--An Endangered Species" http://www.googolpower.com/content/articles/manners-for-boys-gentlemen-an-endangered-species
In short, we live in one of the most remarkable ages this world has ever known, a world with which we can become intimately acquainted to an extent our forebears could only dream (and prophesy) of. May it never be said of us that acquaintance (i.e. familiarity) brought about contempt for our fellow man in the form of over-casual carelessness.
May it rather be said of us that through our gentlemanly and ladylike conduct (amplified via our technologically enhanced opportunities for rich, meaningful contact with our brothers and sisters) we honored Him who is the first, and ultimate, Gentleman.
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