Do we as a society still try to earn each others respect? It does not seem that way anymore. In my childhood it started with the respect of the parents.
Our parents as fearful and dominating as they were still had to earn our respect. As a baby we cry out when we need something. Our parents were serving our every needs, but there comes a time when as a parent the "law" is laid down. As a parent of a sly child I know these test very well. A child will try to hold on to that notion that you are there to serve them as long as they can. It is not until the parent lets the child know that they are in charge that the respect is earned. This is evident in the many "spoiled" children today. Their parents thought they could buy there respect with gifts. Those same parents only made it harder for those kids to respect not only others, but themselves as well.
Fast forward to a independent adult. What do we respect? Money? Fame? Power? Morals? I have found that the best way to earn the respect of others is to simply be yourself in totality. You can not waver from who you truly are. For instance, you are 28yr old stock broker from Maryland at a reggae fest. Knowing nothing about reggae and its roots he acts according to what he has seen on TV. Now this guy how potentially has much to offer is instead acting as someone else. You don't always have to fit in to get respect. You just have to fit.
Think about our leaders who have failed us because we thought they misrepresented themselves. Now think about leaders who faced adversity and near certain failure, but soldered on.
3 comments:
It is funny; today I had a similar conversation with one of my co-workers, whose dad said Americans don't talk to each other in a respectful way. In Hungarian there is a formal way to speak to elderly, so respect is kind of required in the society, however not everyone "youngsters" follow it. I guess this is the way the culture and people change. The past couple of decade’s money become the God of all things in the US and kind of around the world and shapes the value system. Overall, your post proves one point... you are getting old and the differences between you and the new generation started to grow. Just like old people in your teens had hard time to understand your actions and felt the old time value system is lost, happening with you all over, just the other side. One of my friend's 14 year old son said this: “By the time I understand my father, my kids will have a hard time understanding me." Welcome to the real world! :)
Zsolt, I can accept that it is natural for one generations values to differ from the next, but morals should stay intact. I have also noticed that alot of adults have a hard time letting go of their "youth". What I mean by that is they are having a hard time distinguishing themselves from there kids.
Besides the parent child dynamic, I also think that we don't but enough value on knowledge, experience, and perfection. You can see the effect it has on everything we do. Just look at the crap cars we make an how they are marketed towards the consumer. Cars today are to big, heavy, powerful, and sterile. People just pay attention to the bottom line nowadays.
On the car piece I agree, and as long as the money is the main measure for everything (more like bottom line), that will not change. Morals change all the time, every era had something new. You don't have to go far, just look at the value system of the hippies in the 70's (too liberal by today's standards). Society as a whole, you will have no control over, on the family you can build a close relationship with your son and prey he listens to you.
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