R E S P E C T

It may be at the root of many (if not all) of our problems today.  I'm not trying to trivialize matters; I am most likely simplifying things.  But maybe things NEED to be simplified.  Maybe we need to think of things on a really basic level to make them stick.

We, as a human race, need to RESPECT each other. As children most of us are taught to respect our elders, our teachers, our leaders and those who serve the public at large (such as police officers, EMTs, etc.)  But of course it goes both ways, those people need to respect us as well.  We may look different, act differently in situations, but when you come down to it we are ALL made of the same atoms/molecules.  (And I'm not getting any more technical than that.)  Respect is a two way street; something we tend to forget, especially in the heat of the moment.  

Before you speak or act, remember RESPECT.  I know it's not easy, but it IS right.  Harking back to the WWJS philosophy (not to get too religious here), but think about it.  Would you mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle, etc. be proud of you?  Is what you are about to say or do the RIGHT thing?  (We DO know right from wrong; we just chose all too often to ignore it.)  Are you going to be proud of yourself?  Will what you are about to do or say truly make you happy?

It's not easy.  Especially when you are in an unknown situation.  But show respect.  And if the other person doesn't give you respect back, keep your head held high and treat the other person (no matter how rude or wrong) with all the dignity that you can.  It's not easy.

But if we can learn; if we can give each other respect, maybe the world will change for the better.  I'm probably being idealist here.  I'd like to think that I'm a realistic idealist.  I know that showing respect for one another will not stop the shootings, the beatings, and the senseless violence.  But I can hope that if we come to understand each other and apply respect and common sense (which we all know is not common enough these days) to our daily lives MAYBE things will get better.  There will still be senseless violence; there always has been.  But MAYBE there will be a little less.

Treat others as you wish to be treated.  Use common sense and common courtesy.  Treat everyone with respect; even it if isn't easy.  Let's have respect be part of the solution to our society's problems.

Addendum/Update:  I've been reading Harper Lee's "new" novel Go Set A Watchman.  (Not a sequel, but in my opinion more of a case study as to how To Kill A Mockingbird was came about, culled and edited into the brilliant award winning novel that it is.)  This book, though just released, was written at a time when civil rights were at the forefront in our county.  These sentences, though a bit dated when it comes to language, have an incredible power in my mind.  And though dated, perhaps we should all contemplate on the truth behind them.  So here is what Harper Lee's Jean Louise Finch (Scout) as a young woman thinks when she sees the unrest in her beloved hometown:

"When I grew up, and I did grow up with black people, they were Calpurnia, Zeebo the garbage collector, Tom the yard man, and whatever else their names were.  There were hundreds of Negroes surrounding me, they were the hands in the fields, who chopped the cotton, who worked the roads, who sawed the lumber to make our houses.  They were poor, they were diseased and dirty, some were lazy and shiftless, but never in my life was I given the idea that I should despise one, should fear one, should be discourteous to one, or to think that I could mistreat one and get away with it.  They as a people did not enter my world, nor did I enter theirs; when I went hunting I did not trespass on a Negro's land, not because it was a Negro's but because I was not supposed to trespass on anybody's land.  I was taught never to take advantage of anybody who was less fortunate than myself, whether he be less fortunate in brains, wealth or social position; it meant anybody, not just Negroes.  I was given to understand that the reverse Was to be despised.  That is the way I was raised, by a black woman and a white man.”

Dated, yes, but words of wisdom that we should all hold dear to us.  People are not a color or creed, but people.  We should not despise or fear those who are different than us. We should treat all with respect.  And the reverse SHOULD be despised.  

I have no answer for the hatred and violence that seems to pervade our daily news.  I just wish all could be as thoughtful as Harper Lee's Jean Louise Finch is.  Wouldn't be be a better people if we were?