Chivalry

Courage, Justice, Mercy, Generosity, Faith, Nobility, and Honor

So I am going to start with an admission. I really like the new Game of Thrones spin off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. It did begin rather slowly. A little annoying to say the least. I was looking for something more dour, more imbued with solemnity, and mirth. There are no dragons. The dragons are all long gone at this point in the history of Westeros. (I do miss the dragons) Instead we have a dramedy. A combination of a drama with comedy thrown in- well sort of. It is the story of Ser Duncan the Tall and the future king of Westeros affectionately called, Egg. (Ok if you haven’t watch it here is a bit of a review.)

In the last episode, Dunk, the knight or knight wannabe- you see there is a question of whether Dunk was truly knighted, but that is really immaterial to the overarching point of this essay - shows how he believes in what we would call “chivalry.” The protection of the innocent. That you are to live an honest life. That you are to stand up for what is right and just in the world. Very, very Arthurian in thought and deed.

Truth is, we have always craved chivalry in our world. Our heroes have always risked life and limb to protect the meek in the world. Heroes are those who are there to protect those who simply do not have the means to protect themselves. Today we call them first responders, the police, EMTs, firefighters, and our military. These are our knights. These are the ones who are supposed to live a chivalrous, a virtuous life. Society has not changed its notion of knighthood, even though we think we are beyond something so mundane and “outdated.”

Courage, Justice, Mercy, Generosity, Faith, Nobility, and Honor

I think that is why when those whom we consider our knights, violate the oaths they take, it comes down like a hammer on our society. It takes from our community a sense of calm. It takes the sense that there is protection in the world. It takes from us our quietude. And that is why, there is outrage.

Meanwhile, calm is something we seek in a world of chaos. Yes, our world is in chaos. For we do not have the ability to individually do anything to change the economy, politics (beyond our 1 vote- ok yes we can join lobbies or political groups but really how much sway to you think you really have), job security, safety, climate, or how anything we do effects the overarching anxieties that drive so much of the news scroll.

Now another aspect of this show is just how duplicitous the ruling elite happen to be. There is no honor, even though they talk of honor all the time. Their goal, and it is their only goal, is to retain power. To make sure that the average person, the serf, the peon does not gain any ideas that for some reason the elites are not to be listened to. So they talk a big game about right, wrong, and chide the average person with concepts of chivalry, but when push comes to shove they are only liars. They also rule by fear. Authoritarians do not change throughout history, or in fiction either.

Unworthy of the people’s admiration. These duplicitous elites should be held up to derision, not honor. They should be excoriated, pilloried, and banished from good society. But then again they decided what is and is not good society. (Interestingly, you see in the Laws of Moses the first true attempt by human society to hold all, elite and non-elite to the same laws.)

But in the end there is Dunk, naive in his belief in the goodness and righteousness of knights. Of course, along comes one Targaryen prince that does side with Dunk. Because in the end he said, it is chivalry and nothing more that makes the knight.

I was thinking about this latest episode in the wake of the Epstein files- oh fuck, yes I am going to go there. Not because I read any of the reports or emails or actually took the time to go beyond a precursory reading of who and what was emailed. But what I found, and correct me if I am wrong, is that quite a number of those who consider themselves our betters, basically sought the favor of this vile pedophile sexual predator.

These modern day elites who gather at Davos, in ivy league universities, halls of corporate and political power, to discuss how to run the world and pat themselves on the back for their chivalry, are basically human garbage. No not everyone, but quite enough if you ask me. And honestly, if it is not “Epstein,” I will wager that there is enough of other hidden secrets for most of these snobs to remove them from having the ability or the right to tell others how they should live or truthfully to direct the future of the world.

Now of course, I am sure that there are those who within the ranks of these finger-wagging pole up their arses millionaire jet setting overindulged entitled shit talkers, are good people. There are those who do create foundations to help the poor and don’t dream of fucking a child in their backroom, but what gets me is the amount of persons, well known and influential persons, caught up in this Epstein scandal. And not just caught up in the scandal, but completely and utterly devoid of any shame in reaching out to this scum of the Earth for a variety of asks.

Society comments on the hypocrisy of the celebrities who yell at everyone about climate change, then flies private, vacations on a mega yacht, or lives in a 10,000 square foot home, while driving a hummer. We are used to the university elites who chastise the world about the evils of capitalism, then hob nob with the bankers to make sure they get the grants they need in order to only teach 1 class and do a little research every year but maintain that high 6 figure income, or live off the government teat.

(Oh yes and at the same time still calling for the genocide of half of the world’s Jews- but that story is so old now, it has become boring so no one is actually talking about it anymore. Our 15 minutes of calling out antisemitic fuckers apparently has passed, except if you want to watch a dreadful commercial about blue squares during the Super Bowl).

We are used to the politicians who tell us that the 2nd amendment is old and outdated, but live in gated communities with security at their beck and call. They also tell us at the same time that the criminals are the ones who need compassion not so much the victims. They tell us we need to let these miscreants back into our communities without bail because, it is so unjust to make sure that serial offenders, some with dozens of arrests and convictions, be held to account.

And the list of those with their noses in the air caught in this web is almost nonending. Those that held themselves out to be our betters, not just in thought but in deed, were practically begging this low life to allow them into his inner circle.

I swear I do not get it.

What I can’t figure out in all of this is the why.

What am I missing?

Who the hell was this guy? Why did he carry so much weight?

Seriously, WTF?

Why did people reach out to this creep in the first place? It wasn’t unknown who he was, and even if you didn’t know prior to his first arrest, you damn well knew who he was and what he was up to after he was indicted, even if he only got a slap on the wrist (he truly used to joke that he was a registered sex offender, and none of these people thought anything of it).

Moreover, these elites have access to the best information data on the planet. If we plebes, can log onto google or chat gpt and do a background search on someone our child is dating (ok I haven’t done it yet, but I do not swear I will never do it), you can rest assured that those embroiled here had a beeline right to the information they needed about the man. Do you think that those who perceive themselves as the masters of the universe don’t do research about a person before they are going to meet them? Do you really think they go into meetings without information about the person they will be spending time with, especially if business is involved?

So yes, there are those who have had to resign from positions they held in companies or even politics. And we can finally realize that so many of these individuals who try to tell us how to live our lives, the difference between right or wrong, and how society should move forward, are no longer going to be listened to…well at least that is the hope.

But my other question is, what is it that we don’t know. Who else is part of this rope-a-dope scandal that are waiting in the wings to be found out. (and yes I sound like a conspiracy nut, but truthfully, I want to know what it is they are not telling us.)

And it doesn’t have to just be this latest scandal.

What other skeletons do these elites have in their closet?

What putrid actions do those who pontificate at us all the time have sublimated in their world? What duplicitous perversions do they hide in their dungeons? That they think they can buy indulgences through some inane useless and damaging propositions, while constantly berating the average person in society, while at the same time making themselves actually immune from the fallout their sin-eater propositions cause. Nothing they propose in order to wash away their stench touches the little shrouded world in which they live. They are invulnerable to the damage they cause the world, yet at the same time get to laude themselves as the world’s new saviors.

The stories of the Knights and chivalry are very old in deed. These stories hang on, because societies need to believe that there are those who seek to better this world because it is the right thing to do. The Torah says “Justice, justice shalt thou pursue.” There is a reason for thousands and thousands of years, humanity seeks someone who will stand for moral rightness.

Righteousness has been something that the powerless seek in those with power. Because we have truly so little say in the world except within our own parameters we hope and pray for decent, goodhearted, ethical, and principled persons to lead.

I think that is why I understand Dunk so much in this latest incarnation of Westeros. He truly believes in something that is good. He has a code by which he lives. He foolishly thought that those that society deemed were his betters, adhered to the same tenets.

We, here in the real world, or what passes for the real world, don’t actually have to listen to these elitest shitbags. We really don’t have to pay them any mind. (Well not here in the US at least. We are still a free country.) You do not have to respect nor honor those who desecrate decency, and humanity, while trying to play us all for fools.

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