Chivalry is not dead!
Just when you think society has gone to the piss-pot, it’s heartening to know that there are just some plain common decent folk out there. It’s a minor thing. It’s not really a big thing at all. The principle behind it is. I recently took my truck to the shop and when I left, never realized that my insurance card had been AWOL. Lo and behold, when I arrived at home and checked the mail a couple of days later, there was a envelope with our insurance card and a kind note included from a stranger indicating it had been left in their vehicle instead of mine.
THE DEFINITION OF A GENTLEMAN
The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman.
The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly–the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light
The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past. A true man of honor feels humbled himself when he cannot help humbling others.
-Robert Edward Lee
Having come across this on the eve of the conclusion to our mental health rotations, which included serving in soup line, navigating the city streets via public transportation and feeding those afflicted with Alzheimer’s, I can only hope to incorporate that motto in my practice. We who have opted for these difficult paths would not have chosen them if we didn’t live this in our daily lives. I understand the difficulties we face in the medical field and I do not have all the answers, but the one thing I do have control over is my attitude and how I respond to people and situations.
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