A500.2.3.RB - Tell Your Story

Respect

      It is said that respect is something that is earned, not given; however, this is not true. We are born with human rights and ones of those rights to be respected has another human being. Of course, there are levels of respect that can be earned; for example, the lawyer who wins a particular case that was deemed unwinnable now has a much higher amount of respect from his colleagues. Likewise, people have to earn the right to be disrespected, like that same lawyer who was later found out to have won because he paid the jury off. 

     In other words, just like our democracy believes the innocent is innocent until proven guilty: a person should be respected until they have given a reason to not be respected. This is how I see it, but unfortunately, not everyone in the world views things this way. In fact, it seems as respect is something that a lot of people do not seem to have - even for themselves.  

     I grew up in a very traditional, Southern family. We believed in the "good-ole-boy" system and in giving the shirt off our backs to those who needed it more. My parents taught me that the color of someones skin did not matter, but it was who they were as a person that I needed to pay attention too. They believed that family came first, but that family also included friends. While women had their duties to the house, the men had their duties outside, but it did not mean that one job was more important than the other because each job was just as tough and they were equal. My family respected one another for who they were as people and I was taught to do the same thing. This line of thinking is where I have acquired my standard of thinking about respect. 

     For example, I do not hold any more respect for a person I see wearing a business suit, than I do the person who is homeless on the bench. They are both humans going through completely different human experiences, this does not warrant a judgement from me, nor does it warrant the man in the businesses suit more respect. 

     Unfortunately, over the years I have learned that my views and opinions on this topic are not shared by many. Most people would judge and give more respect to the man in the suit. It is just the way society seems to be. Money and fame seem to be the things that are respected most. I know that there are other people who share my opinion about respect, but not society has a whole. 

    I believe that much like everything else, learning to have respect for yourself and for other people starts at home, taught to you by your family. Since the family unit in general seems to be in danger and is some cases non-existent in today's society, so is having respect for yourself and for others.