I am sure I am not the only one, in fact I know I am not I hear it all the time. For example: People complaining about bad manners in public; lack of ethics in business; businesses can’t find the right staff; badly dressed people – let’s not even go on about the public displays of underwear by guys!
Not only that, but swathes of my female friends bemoan that they can’t find a good man, a decent man, a gentleman out there in the dating world. There is a general malaise about society, I can feel it and I am not the only one.
Things were missing, the basics of style, the commons of manners, decency and sense, the art of developing work relationships and certainly the lost art of romance and chivalry. These things seem not to be taught anymore, they have faded from schools, dropped off the ‘to-do’ lists of busy parents.
But the desire for change is there bubbling under the surface, like a volcano ready to blow. We can see it with the television that resonates such as Downton Abbey and Strictly Come Dancing (UK) Dancing with the Stars (USA). When you look at social media sites such as Pintrest, the Men’s Fashion pages are full of men in suits and dapperly dressed.
A school in Cornwall in England, has started to teach it’s young men etiquette and manners with the sincere belief that it will help them gain better jobs. The prestigious Ladies finishing school in Switzerland, Institut Villa Pierrefeu, has decided to open it’s doors to Men – but only those in the hospitality trade.
There are more and more calls for codes of ethics in business and politics, we long for the day when a handshake and your word was good enough and we didn’t have to worry about falling foul of the bribery act because we purchased a business friend a trinket from our holiday.
We believe that the time is right, a time for a return to fundamentals, for a return to the core principles that lasted for centuries.
Would the world be a better place with more Gentlemen in it, I am biased I believe so. We asked a group of ladies, they all said it would be a much better place. Every time I mention it to someone, they say it’s about time.
‘What’s in it for me?’ I hear the men of the world ask. Well simply put; in these times of economic trouble we all need an edge to make us stand out in the workplace and what stands out more than being incredibly stylish, impeccably mannered and can be dropped into any situation.
Lets not forget, to learn the art of wooing and develop a flair towards romance which will help you find or enhance a relationship.
Let us make the difference, let us make the change in our male selves, let us embrace the Gentleman in us.
Let us rise, rise up and make our grandfathers and great-grandfathers proud of us, let us make the ladies in the world stand up and take notice, let us make the business no longer a dirty word. Let us men take responsibility and be Gentlemen once again.
2013 will see the rise of the Gentleman!
