At Home Or Abroad And Anywhere In Between
Respect - conforming to socially accepted behavior, attitude, taste, ecetera, to feel or show honor, esteem, consideration, deference, or dutiful regard for; it is something we all want but not something we care to give (or sometimes even deserve to receive).
Everybody desires to be respected, however their method of achieving it determines whether or not his respect is based on fear and intimidation or loyalty and admiration.
Respect based on intimidation is a false allegiance grown with weak roots in crumbling soil. But respect based on admiration is a true loyalty raised from firmly established principles in solid ground and is something to be treasured.
Not everyone deserves respect, but regardless of moral and/or character shortcomings every living thing has a right to it.
When reviewing the amount of respect I give to others, I noticed a few character traits that disrespected individuals lacked, in which respected individuals excelled.
Such as:
- Fairness – not jumping to conclusions and considering all the evidence (because he decided to listen to every account of the misunderstanding/quarrel) before making his decision.
- Impartiality – I don’t want to be wrong simply because I am not a suck-up, his favorite, his yes-man, or (excuse my language) an ass kisser.
- Character Integrity (Including:) – If I truly respect someone, then we are friends. I care about my friends and tend to believe that they always have their best intentions in mind. I defend my friends (to the best of my ability and to a reasonable degree/extent), regardless of whether they are wrong and even if I don’t know of what they are being accused (again to a reasonable degree/extent). That is why their character is so important; because I don’t want to unknowingly (or knowingly) defend ANYONE who is in trouble as a result of their intentional actions performed with malicious or otherwise wrongful intent.
-
Retrospective Experiences (With That Individual) – their first impression, them remembering the little things you love, reminiscing about the times you shared with him, ecetera. Or how they bullied you, picked on and teased you, beat you up, denied you a promotion for all the wrong reasons, cut you off in traffic, gossiped about you, lied to you, ecetera.
It is all of the traits previously mentioned and some I forgot that determines whether they are deserving of and have earned respect.
The thing I respect most often is authority. Being
my age means that almost everybody is more important than, holds/occupies a higher position than, and possesses more authority and influence than myself. (This means I have to obey: parents, teachers, older siblings, ecetera; basically any adult not trying to coax me into their car with promises of free candy or tales of lost puppies.)
When at home or
abroad and anywhere in between, I/you must practice the respect of conforming to socially accepted behavior, attitudes and tastes (wearing a uniform or adhering to a dress code, obeying the rules, regulations, and policies of the facility or establishment I/you currently occupy).
At home,
(children in particular) should make an effort to use the type of respect discussed in the previous paragraph concerning your parents. They brought you into this life, pay for your food, supply you with an allowance (if you’re lucky), purchase your
unnecessary (latest fashion) clothes, top-of-the-line shoes, cosmetics, hair-care supplies, birthday presents, Christmas presents, and every-other holiday presents. They pay for
your phone bill, water bill, and electric bill,
gave you your video game console and games, computer, bike, and own the television you want so badly to go watch (the least you can do is take out the trash).
No matter how unfair, biased, and rotten-charactered an individual is and no matter how many bad memories I/you have about them, it does not exempt me/you from having to respect him.
Always remember to give everything living thing, whether animal, friend, or foe the respect that is their birthright.