Infamous Irritation

One of our Companions recently wrote "there is nothing more frustrating to the soul than an unanswered call."
     With that simple remark, he pinpointed the infamous agitation that drives some men mad, others to apathetic neglect, and still others to enlightenment.
     The beauty of that spirit, too often ignored, is that we thirst for ideals that have not been tainted by ambiguity or contradiction — ideals that we can trust with certainty. This is why Chivalry-Now attracts us so quickly. Its principles leap up like an echo from within, expressing who we are. What we seek is ours already. We intuit them with a yearning for fulfillment.
     But where do they fit in?
     It is here where misdirection takes its toll. It is here where anger and frustration insist that things are not as they should be, casting blame on others as well as on ourselves.
     The pain is so deep and personal that w respond with anger. Sometimes that anger focuses on the wrong cause, closing our minds to the possibility of greater truth.
     The infamous agitation is the manifestation of our "unanswered call." Our collective psyche rebels at our lack of direction, how our highest virtues are prostituted to control rather than liberate us. Look how many religious leaders distort the spirit of their faith for the lure of profit and the thrill of power.
     Is there no one we can trust in this world of distorted truth and manipulative greed?
     Of course there is. But we must act as if there are not when it comes to the integrity of our souls, for which we are responsible. Our individual quest is ours and ours alone. We have to do it ourselves.
     That is why our hearts instinctively stir at the call of chivalry — like the heart of any patriot in times of need.
     The questions we face are these:

• What stops us from responding to this call with unmitigated fervor?
• Where comes the misconception that we need not bother?
• What fallacy or labor or discouragement so castigates our sense of duty with moral lethargy?
• Is it simply that we don't care anymore?
• Has our self-esteem been replaced by transient whims and temporary convenience?
• Or have we bought into the very process that destroys who we are?

     How is it that a man, any man, sits idly by in the face or injustice of hurtful greed? How can his voice remain silent. His heart unmoved? His blood not pounding for action? How can he not rise in defense of women and children, and the infirmed and disadvantaged, the well-being of all his brothers? Does cowardice no longer cast shame? Has pride been completely replaced by cleverness and self-interest? Have we completely lost sight of what it mans to be a man?
     The reasons for inaction are plenty:

• Cynicism.
• Apathy.
• Greed.
• A broken culture that fails to teach us who we are.
• A blanket distrust of our ability to change.
• A government that is supposed to solve all our problems, even as it makes dependents of us all.
• A vision of life that builds walls instead of bridges.
• Lack of sympathy.
• Lack of empathy.
• Failed leadership.

     Chivalry-Now is a call to question what is right and what is wrong with the insight of new commitment to life itself. We must detach ourselves from ideological alliances that prevent us from seeing things as they are.
     The infamous agitation is the haunting complaint of our potential nobility.
     If we fail to respond, Camelot is nothing but a cruel dream .

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