They teach us to respect our elders, but we should be taught to respect everyone, not just elders or those in a higher position. We should stop disrespecting people based on their appearance, gender, cast, religion and so on and be more empathetic.
It’s not just people but our surroundings that we should respect and value too, and this includes nature and animals.
What is respect?
Simply put, respect is a positive feeling, you show this towards someone or something that you consider important. It’s a feeling of deep admiration, but it also means treating another person right because they are human too.
Genuine respect is when you say one thing to their face and stick to that and not say something else behind their back. When you respect someone you show them you admire and care about them.
What people consider respectful behaviour may differ from person to person, some may see a person in an influential position as respectful, some may see a well brought up child’s parents as respectful and some may see a teen who doesn’t drink or smoke as respectable.
Society has taught us to see certain things as respectful and overtime we generate an idea of what we think is respectable. We have a certain mentality and based on that we treat people accordingly.
Why we respect and how it helps us
If you think from an evolutionary standpoint, our ancestors who were part of a pack survived. In that pack there would be an alpha male that would look out for others and assert dominance, this helped the others survive.
We may or may not have respect for our superiors at work or school, but we will be obedient and follow the rules. This is because we enjoy being part of groups and not being socially excluded.
What do I mean by ‘respect must be earned not asked for?’
We cannot force someone to respect us because we are an authority figure or if we are older than them. This is something that should come from the person themselves.
This being said, when we meet a stranger should we respect them? Respect differs from simple politeness and obedience. Common courtesy asks us to be polite and not treat them like they are dirt just because we don’t know them. Unless they disrespect you, you ought to be polite.
Something I have learnt over the years is respect people unless they show you otherwise. You don’t respect someone because you “ought to” you should respect someone because you “want to.”
Respect yourself
It’s important to respect who you want to, but it’s also important to respect yourself and treat yourself right. When you don’t those around, you may treat you the way you treat yourself.
Respecting yourself means you give your mind and body the nourishment it needs.
Standing up for yourself and not waiting for someone else to do it for you.
Respecting your time and other people’s.
As an end, I would like to add respect is a choice and should not be forced upon people.
Comments