Something I’ve noticed in the past few years is how things we do every day have given way to this non-critical, safe, conflict-avoidance mentality. We have become masters of non-offensive, bland, politically correct language.

But, I’ll argue, conflict is a good thing. It presents a wide color of opinions and beliefs, not necessarily precluding that one is more right than another. There’d be no resolution or diplomacy without it.

Facebook is a great example of this; while there is an option to ‘like’ a post, a converse does not exist. I’ve seen this in countless examples elsewhere in our society. Are people so afraid of criticism that they can’t accept that someone might not agree with them?

We don’t discipline our children anymore, for fear of someone yelling child abuse. How are they supposed to know what’s right, when nothing’s wrong? My mother raised me tough, and while I don’t always see eye-to-eye with her, I’m saltier for it today, and know that I can take on the world.

This does not mean an end to equality between the sexes. If anything, it’s time for men to start pulling their weight and act like the men we’re supposed to be. If my grandfather were alive today, he’d tell us to grow a pair.

We are living in rough economic times. The day of the push-over is coming to a close. DiCaprio is out, Hamm is in. Our first duty was to get off our butts and elect the right people into power. Mission accomplished. Now it’s time to pull up our sleeves and get some work done, because no one is going to do it for us anymore.

Chivalry is back.