fast
Contributor
There are some ambiguities and distinctions that need to be hashed out. First, some of us may be able to relate to what is apparently an old-fashioned concept sometimes eluded to by the statement that "children should be respectful of their elders." This can embody a variety of virtues such as being helpful, friendly, kind, and obedient. The idea is to instill in them to be polite and well-mannered. There is the hope that children who learn to listen and be mindful early on will carry these positive and endearing traits into adolescence and adulthood. That is all on the one hand.
There is a second and substantially different and distinct concept that says respect should be earned and not automatically granted merely because someone is an adult or holds an authoritative status. That's all fine and good as far as principles go, but this is all on the other hand. The problem I see is when the difference between the two hands are meshed together as if they are undiscernable.
I present the following thought experiment to vividly illustrate the difference. A mother and her seven year old son is approached by a senator at a nearby festival. Both the mother and son exchange introductory pleasantries with the senator. Shortly into the conversation at the gathering, the senator offers the little boy a handout geared towards the kids. The boy politely accepts the gift and thanks the senator with genuine and positive mannerism. Impressed by the well mannered behavior of the mothers' little boy, the senator comments in awe about his level of respect.
The mother says, "yes, he's been raised to have a lot of respect." Her little boy (who has recently spent a lot of time with his grandparents) immediately said, "but that's not true momma! I don't have any respect for Mr. Wilson because like grandpa says, he's been making some really bad decisions for our community, but I do try to be very respectful because that's what grandma says I should do."
So, again, to recap and summarize, there is respect (of the first kind) on the left hand, and there is respect (of the second kind) on the right hand. Language makes the distinction problematic. I could refer to the first kind as being respectful and refer to the second kind as having respect, but the ambiguity is still in our language, so people will continue to argue with the label whether they conflate them or not, but for stipulative purposes, I'll move forward with a real life example to see what others have to say as their defense for lacking the first when lacking the second:
President Donald Trump.
There are some good people in this country. Some of them don't respect him. Some of them do. Some of them that don't respect him aren't respectful of him (and you know who you are), but some of them that don't respect him are respectful of him. There are people that respect him, and of those, while some are respectful of him, some aren't. Also, there are some not so good people in this country, and even if [they] don't respect him, then what other than pathetic upbringing explains [their] rude comments?
I would be honored to help my president make improvements for my country. That doesn't mean he gets my stamp of approval for every decision he makes, but then again, it's not always about what he says but how he says it. Either way, I find it quite questionable that others use the idea that respect should be earned as a defense for acting like they've been raised by juveniles with no sense of professionalism.
There is a second and substantially different and distinct concept that says respect should be earned and not automatically granted merely because someone is an adult or holds an authoritative status. That's all fine and good as far as principles go, but this is all on the other hand. The problem I see is when the difference between the two hands are meshed together as if they are undiscernable.
I present the following thought experiment to vividly illustrate the difference. A mother and her seven year old son is approached by a senator at a nearby festival. Both the mother and son exchange introductory pleasantries with the senator. Shortly into the conversation at the gathering, the senator offers the little boy a handout geared towards the kids. The boy politely accepts the gift and thanks the senator with genuine and positive mannerism. Impressed by the well mannered behavior of the mothers' little boy, the senator comments in awe about his level of respect.
The mother says, "yes, he's been raised to have a lot of respect." Her little boy (who has recently spent a lot of time with his grandparents) immediately said, "but that's not true momma! I don't have any respect for Mr. Wilson because like grandpa says, he's been making some really bad decisions for our community, but I do try to be very respectful because that's what grandma says I should do."
So, again, to recap and summarize, there is respect (of the first kind) on the left hand, and there is respect (of the second kind) on the right hand. Language makes the distinction problematic. I could refer to the first kind as being respectful and refer to the second kind as having respect, but the ambiguity is still in our language, so people will continue to argue with the label whether they conflate them or not, but for stipulative purposes, I'll move forward with a real life example to see what others have to say as their defense for lacking the first when lacking the second:
President Donald Trump.
There are some good people in this country. Some of them don't respect him. Some of them do. Some of them that don't respect him aren't respectful of him (and you know who you are), but some of them that don't respect him are respectful of him. There are people that respect him, and of those, while some are respectful of him, some aren't. Also, there are some not so good people in this country, and even if [they] don't respect him, then what other than pathetic upbringing explains [their] rude comments?
I would be honored to help my president make improvements for my country. That doesn't mean he gets my stamp of approval for every decision he makes, but then again, it's not always about what he says but how he says it. Either way, I find it quite questionable that others use the idea that respect should be earned as a defense for acting like they've been raised by juveniles with no sense of professionalism.