Concerning Chaperonage

Like fashions and customs in a good many other things, the words of our language come and go. Many times within our generation we have seen words suddenly come into daily usage, and we have seen words gradually fall into disuse almost without our being aware of the changing styles of speech. One such word that was once used more often and with much meaning, and which more recently seems to be on the wane, is the word “chaperon.” To those who have lived through earlier decades, it stirs memories. But to many of today’s youth it has little or no meaning outside the dictionary. But, old-fashioned as it is, the word still has a meaning, and old-fashioned as it may seem to say so, that meaning has a fundamental significance. In bringing up this subject there is no thought of yearning for the past—no thought of going back. Nevertheless, we are reminded of a time when parents knew, or attempted to know, every hour of the day and night, where there young daughters where, and with whom, and for what purpose, and when they would be expected to return, and how. This, of course, in some circumstances was not always possible then anymore than it would be possible now. But the practice recognized a need pertaining to the well-being of the community in general and young womanhood in particular—and certainly that need has not grown less great in so-called modern times. And parents who have used easy modern ways as a reason or as excuse to shaking off responsibility, or ignoring it, have failed to face facts. The supposition that some good fortune is somehow going to care of our young girls no matter where they go or with whom is a fallacy that has long since led to disappointment and sorrow. There is obligation in the home that no social agency can take over, that no free and easy ways can justifiably ignore—and obligation that runs contrary to supposition that the youngers should be allowed to run free as the wind without reporting to anyone or being accountable for anything. Social companions are more respectful of those who come from homes where it is known that mother and father are there, and expect to know what and when and where and with whom. Accountability and parental responsibility are words that must not lose there meaning, for parents or for the children whom God has entrusted to them.