Going Down With the Ship

For the past few hours I have been watching a mini-series/movie on ION about the Titanic (Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a role as well as Tim Curry). This is certainly one of the best portrayals of the Titanic, and much better than the cheesy romantic tragedy of Rose and Jack from the motion picture. Although the entire story is fascinating and the history and research done with the remains of the ship underwater is so curious to digest, there was one aspect of the movie that especially caught my attention.

About an hour after the iceberg incident (and with one projected hour left) the life boats were being uncovered and the crew was as calmly as possible attempting to fill the boats with women and children. Naturally there were many men lingering around the few lifeboats and coming up with an excuse as to why they should be let on. Some succeeded, others failed, but those are not the individuals that fascinated me. I expect there to always be cowardly people who are in this world only for their own good.

The people that pushed me to write this blog were those men (and even some women) who took control, kept their calm, and did everything to make everyone else survive. I was baffled by the husbands who put their wives on a boat and promised to make another despite knowing there would be no later boats. And those fathers who thought not of raising their children after the incident but only of ensuring their children's spots were secured. And even those strong willed women who stepped back and gave orders and fought to stay and help those more helpless.

What character those people had. But I have to think there is an element that existed then that we have lost today and that loss is why I am so surprised at the courage shown. Back then the words were "Women and Children first and only". This particular version also shows steerage women with young children being allowed aboard the few first class boats left (although other versions would say first class men were favored) . Would that philosophy still apply today?

Or is the modern philosophy more like the saying that prevailed when there were only minutes left? "Every man for himself". Which should you choose? Our society has been through so much change, including the all important feminist movement, that I wonder how many men would still follow the old-fashioned Victorian creed.

Now so many women do not want doors opened for them because it shows they are weak. Many men admit to not knowing how to act towards women. Do they act cordial and respectful in the ways of old manners or do they treat them women as true equals?

What would you do?