I read through the various comments and after digesting all the wonderful prose, I came up with this response ...
My Comment:
Perhaps we have a misunderstanding of what it means to be a 'gentleman'. Picture in your mind the cowboy ... the guy who says "Yes ma'am.", when asked a question by a lady. He knows to remove his hat when he enters someone's home, or when he is introduced to a lady, and especially when he leads in prayer. He understands that you hold a door for a lady. Chivalry is important. But I think what is being assumed here is that a "gentleman" is also a weakling.
A gentleman is one who never starts an argument, but also one who does NOT back down when defending one's honor, or when standing up for what is "right". A gentleman is the epitomy of what a Christian should be, at least in their actions. He is courteous, respectful, considerate, and patient, but he is also bold and strong in the face of evil or adversity. He is quick to take a stand against a wrong doing on behalf of another. Words like "character", "integrity", and "principle" are not just words, but precious companions and integral parts of a gentleman's makeup ... of his being. He "is" these things. He's not perfect, and he will be the first to apologize when he's done a wrong ... but he is by all measures stable and solid where his beliefs and his principles are concerned.
In leadership, a true gentleman will "draw out" these character qualities in the folks that he supervises. He does this by example, by encouragement, and by personal friendly challenges, to entice the individual to embrace these principle keys to character.
[end quote]
In the Old West days ...
The phrase "gentleman" had a high meaning when it came to the conduct of a man. A "gentleman" would never been seen in a 'gentleman's club' because a "gentleman" does not go to such places. When one spoke of "adult conversation" in the Old West days, lewdity, foul language, and curse words were NOT part of the subject at all! An "adult conversation" would never allow such lack of character or immature behavior! "Adult conversation" simply meant that they were discussing things that adults talk about ... that children would simply not be interested in.
What has happend to the society of today? Where did our moral values go? And what happened to "standards" of character?
Food for thought ... that you can "ponder" as you pull a Mark Twain and smoke your pipe on the back porch, watching the sun go down.
Remember this: character, integrity, and honor, are things of value that must be embraced. They are jewels of significant value, oftentimes overlooked ... but that is another story!
Time to build a fire, and think back of the older days ... when men really were "men".
Goodnight to you all!
Stay warm ... and remember.
Make me proud!
.JPG)
