Chivalry isn't dead?!

That's right; I'm 98% sure that chivalry isn't completely dead... yet. It is, however, dying, and that is quite unfortunate in my not-so-expert opinion.

I certainly can't speak for anyone else but myself on this issue, but I'm a fan of chivalry. A big fan. I've had the privilege of watching chivalrous men such as my father & grandfathers and I like it. I like the idea of gentlemen & ladies. I like the idea of manners (I was raised by the etiquette police, I can't help myself!). I like the idea of being protected, taken care of, provided for in the way God intended for a man to do for a woman.

Don't get me wrong; I'm independent. Extremely independent. Often, too independent. HOWEVER, I am in no way shape or form (and I pray I never will be anywhere near) a Femi-nazi. In fact, evidenced by previous posts, I have a strong dislike for the "I am woman, hear me roar" types. Give me a break. No you're not, you're just someone who is cynical, hasn't fallen in love and/or has been hurt. No one's heart is that hard, and if I'm wrong and they are, I feel really bad for those people.

Being a female is often no fun. Let's be serious here, females get to go through a lot of things that males don't have to. I'm not trying to be a self martyr or say that being a male is easy (I've never been, PTL, so I wouldn't know). What I am saying, is that we deal with things that will never fall under the category of "fun" regardless of how you position it.

Ok, back to the point here. Chivalry. The reason it's a dying art, is because we (the American female population, and yes unfortunately I have to include myself in this) are extremely guilty of either consciously or inadvertently squelching it. I saw something the other day that's really stuck with me:
I work in the largest building in the state of Indiana. People are constantly coming and going. I saw a man in his mid-30's hold the door for a woman in her mid-50's. Her response? To my demise, it wasn't the gracious "thank you" that should have been. Rather it was "what are you doing? I can get the door myself!" followed with a hasty sigh and dirty look.

COME ON LADIES. If we (and again, sadly enough I'm included) want gentlemen; want to be swept off our feet by our Prince Charming, then we MUST allow them to hold the broom and/or ride the white horse. It's no wonder men stopped doing chivalrous acts. If I were that 30 something guy, I wouldn't do it again! I'm not saying that this is all women's fault and that men aren't to blame to a degree (we all know it takes 2 to tango...) but what I am saying is that if this is truly something we want, and want to keep around, then we'd better do something about it.

You know what's even funnier? There is still a group of people that get that. Know who? Well, I will tell you: senior citizens. Know why? Because they get IT. And by IT I mean all of the things that we don't. Both genders of the older generations understand life and lived in a way that put us to shame. I was obviously born in the wrong generation. More on this subject to follow...