Kindness and Protection

A wonderful promise was made to me one day. My back was in spasm and he offered to come over and give me some Advil although it would be out of his way to do so. The sentiment struck me as profound. He told me he hates to know that I am in pain. Needless to say he has a piece of my heart.

I've been thinking about this for a few days and it brought me to the topic of kindness and protection. As I sat with my tea looking at my poster of Hieronymus Bosch's garden of earthly delights, I thought about the medieval code of chivalry and courtly love. The closest cousin to this, humanitarianism is defined as: “that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions.”

Modernity has dangled at right angles from approaching anything akin to this concept. The current trend is aloof sarcasm. Displaying kindness has become a sign of weakness. I remembered reading the stoics and searched again for the quote - “People need other people not just for companionship or support in hard times but to fulfill their humanity.” While skimming I found an essay concerning kindness by Maria Rankin-Brown reviewing On Kindness by Philips and Taylor:

The authors write that: “real kindness is an exchange with essentially unpredictable consequences. It is a risk precisely because it mingles our needs and desires with the needs and desires of others, in a way that so-called self-interest never can. . . . By involving us with strangers . . . as well as with intimates, it is potentially far more promiscuous than sexuality.” Many of us go out of our way to avoid being obligated to another. The trust that one must hold for another whenever kindness is enacted complicates our relationship with ourselves and with others.

When I meet a soul who is cheerful and accepting or romantically protective and deeply intelligent, it is like a spotlight has been turned on the dark stage I often stare at from my mezzanine seat. Where is the modern mechanism that will turn on so many spotlights that our current stage will glow?

Here is a short list from the code of chivalry taken from the Rifts: England Supplement

• Live one's life so that it is worthy of respect and honour.
• Live for freedom, justice and all that is good.
• Never attack an unarmed foe.
• Never use a weapon on an opponent not equal to the attack.
• Never attack from behind.
• Avoid lying to your fellow man.
• Avoid cheating.
• Avoid torture.
• Administer justice.
• Protect the innocent.
• Exhibit self control.
• Respect women.
• Exhibit Courage in word and deed.
• Defend the weak and innocent.
• Destroy evil in all of its monstrous forms.
• Fight with honour.