People

There are those we come in contact with who hear about Chivalry-Now and consider it naïve.
     They are clever people who consider themselves adept at making a failed system work — for them. They think they understand human nature, with a subtle emphasis of the dark side, which they view as so integrated with the rest as to be indispensable.
     These people are comfortable with the way things are because they are invested in them. They are so "motor set" that they can scarcely imagine a different paradigm.
     Others see the misery and error, and would prefer if things were different, but don't recognize a viable alternative. Or they believe that the status quo is just too powerfully ingrained to challenge.
     Still others are so consumed by their every day struggles that they can't bother with grander schemes. Even the hope of a new cultural paradigm is just another distraction they can't afford. So they think.
     The clever, the comfortable, the disenchanted, and those with hardened minds, will not respond to the call of Chivalry-Now. Not at first. They will view it as naïve, anachronistic, even a childish waste of time. Some might view it as a threat. Those who are invested in greed, or racism, or enjoy power in the status quo, or thrive on cynicism, might belittle our efforts. They will write us off as dreamers.
     And so we are.
     We are dreamers in a sorry world of illusion that thrives on disenchantment. We are a threat to those who value distorted and even contradictory life-principles. Our simplicity, to them, is not clarity of thought but lack of sophistication. They admire toughness over compassion, savvy over virtue, predictability over possibility.
     What they fail to realize is that a man of ideals has to be tougher than most to navigate in a world of cynicism. He has to retain his principles against all odds. He has to look possibility in the face, and make new, inspiring predictions. He must be fearless.
     In comparison to the man of chivalry, those who lack his inspiration are the ones who are naïve in what needs to be done, not tough enough to resist the crowd, stilted by a lack of vision. Our man is a citizen of Camelot already, engaged in both quest and mission — a quest to find truth, a mission to apply it.
     The purity, simplicity and manliness of Chivalry-Now have to contend with a world that berates what is pure, simple and manly. We need to defend them. We need to unashamedly give them life. To do so, we must transform the image of knighthood we inherit, from that of the iron clad warrior to the face reflected in the mirror.
     We cannot be dissuaded by closed, unimaginative minds. Much needs to be done, and we have to act quickly. It is time to take up sword and shield, intellect and pen, action and faith in our inner selves, and bring the very best ofl manhood back to life.
     We cannot be discouraged. We are fighting not only to save the dream of civility, but the earth itself.
     In the end, perhaps our greatest hope is the child in us all.

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