Quote of the Day
“Men are respectable
only as they respect”
My young friend Tony and I were having a discussion the other day. In my know-it-all behavior I was lecturing him on respect. I was explaining to him that at times he displayed a disrespectful attitude. With a perplexed look on his face he looked and me and exclaimed, “Maybe we both have different definitions on respect.” Now I was perplexed, no one had ever made me think of that before. He made a valid point, respect is a broad term and each individual will have his or her own definition.
I decided to look up respect in the dictionary;
respect: To hold in high regard; esteem, to show honor; courtesy; consideration; a relation or reference to a particular thing or situation.
As you can see this definition is pretty broad. What I may see as honor or esteem, you may see entirely differently. So I think the first step in respect is understanding that we are all different, that in and of itself is respect.
I also believe that respect is not a given, rather it is earned. I will show you respect if you are an elder, policeman, doctor, etc… However, for you to gain and keep my respect as a person, you will have to earn it.
For most the meaning of respect is to treat others the way you want them to treat you. I like to look at it another way, do not treat others in a way that you would not want to be treated.
I can cuss like a sailor, (No disrespect towards Sailors) I have often wondered why so many find these words offensive. However, I do respect that there are those who do and I refrain from cussing their presence.
So what is your definition of respect? I would love to read some of your ideas.
