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S.E. Wood Ladies and gentlemen,
In this modern era we are told that it is
politically incorrect to refer to a person of the female gender
as a "lady" since that term infers standards of civility
that are offensive to some members of the "fairer sex."
(There I go again.) They prefer to be called "women."
In fact, there are some militant females who prefer the term
"womyn," so as not to infer any relevance to, or dependence
upon, the male of the species - Adam's rib notwithstanding. But fortunately there are members of the male
gender who feel flattered when referred to as a "gentleman."
In fact, the ultimate compliment is often considered to be called
a "Southern gentleman." (Sort of the reverse relationship
between being a "Yankee" and a "damn Yankee.")
Are gentlemen always persons of high moral
character? Not necessarily. Are men of high moral character always
gentlemen? Not at all. So what is it that characterizes a gentleman?
It's not an easy call. We generally think of Robert E. Lee as
having been a gentleman, but not Abraham Lincoln. Why? I don't
know. But being considered a gentleman embodies a feeling of
refinement in addition to politeness. The Chinese philosopher
Confucius wrote: ·"The gentleman puts his sayings
into action before adopting them as rules." ·"The gentleman has universal
sympathies and is not partisan. The small man is partisan and
does not have universal sympathies." ·"The gentleman brings out the
fine qualities in others and does not bring out the bad qualities
in others. The small man does the opposite." ·"The gentleman is dignified but not arrogant. The small man is arrogant but not dignified." So perhaps in this age of political correctness, the spirit of gentility prevails because it embodies much of the Apostle Paul's definition of faith: "The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." |