Chivalry? Really?

“The message sounds good, but why chivalry of all things?”

Good question!
     In formulating a sorely needed code of ethics – something that included our best ideals, satisfied the very human need for beauty and romance, incorporated the idea of life being a challenging adventure or quest, healed the past wounds of gender issues, defended the weak, gave generously to the poor, honored truth, and returned courtesy to relationships that sorely needed it – nothing else came anywhere close.
     We knew up front, of course, that medieval chivalry would not be appropriate for today’s world. So we asked what chivalry would be like if it had evolved over time? What if it incorporated the very best from the centuries that followed, such as the Ages of Reason and Enlightenment, the Renaissance and Romantic periods, psychology, science, feminism, and cap it off with a more positive take on existentialism?
     What if we made it non-partisan? Really non-partisan. Anti-partisan actually. Something that removes itself from the stultifying conflict of political ideologies, and focuses on real values instead.
     In order to unite as many people as possible, it would have to be open to well-intentioned people of all faiths, or to no religious faith at all. Our message would be individual-centric.
     The result was the 12 Trusts, a historical code of chivalry adapted to modern times.
     While Chivalry-Now is deeply rooted in Western culture, we believe that its tenets are universal expressions of Nature’s Law, and therefore not confined to any race or nation. If you find your innate values of conscience agreeing with them, they belong to you.
     To deepen our cultural roots, we looked further back in time, back to the Golden Age of Greece, where Western philosophy was born, and traced it from there. What we found was a virtual timeline of evolving philosophical development, upon which ours depended. Chivalry-Now is just the latest incarnation, one that recognizes its evolutionary nature and goal. From the past, we took claim of certain concepts that would better explain our ideals (Areté, Aletheia, Telos, Nature’s Law, etc.), and put our own spin on them.
     Even in 2014, the image of a noble knight retains a sense of romantic and moral nostalgia to which most people naturally respond. All we had to do was modify its definition according to our updated code. We now define a Knight of Chivalry-Now as someone knowledgeably committed to the 12 Trusts and the Chivalry-Now concepts.
     The romanticized image of a knight is that of a cultured, civilized warrior who fights against evil. In an age where materialism and complacency rule, what we need are committed, awakened individuals who express this kind of civilized warrior spirit, people who embrace the personal nobility that humanity itself once strove for. Yes, we set our aim high. Little is achieved by aiming low. We seek to place anti-heroes aside, and replace them with everyday heroes of virtue and resolve.
     Chivalry-Now is not a cult that tells people what to think and who to obey. Quite the opposite. It is a call for individuals to grow on their own by seeing themselves as living, breathing, thinking protagonists, experiencing life as a quest for personal growth. Our books and articles are meant to inspire people to think for themselves, and hand no one else the responsibility to do that for them. Chivalry-Now’s mission is to serve as a catalyst designed to spark enthusiastic authenticity. To the extent that we succeed, we hope to change the world for the better, one person at a time, because we know that each person who responds can and will make a difference.
     Now, if the words chivalry or knight still turn you off, ignore them. The important thing is to cultivate your own innate values and play your part in this drama called life. The results will probably be the same.

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