R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Please and thank you are the magic words. Almost every kid has heard this phrase but they don’t take it into action. Growing up, respect was one of the most important things in our household. Say please, thank you ,excuse me, go wash your own plate, help your grandma clean the house, help take things out of the car, hold the door open for others, these are only a few things my parents told us to do. Today it is very rare to see this kind of respect especially in today’s youth. When we do see respect, for example, a young man holding the door open for an older lady we are in awe and applaud him and are so impressed with this. Im not saying that its a bad thing I’m just saying that it’s sad that it is so rare to see this, it should just come naturally, not something we are so unfamiliar with that we get so impressed. People don’t understand the meaning of respect, they don’t seem to care about how others see them. They don’t appreciate the worth of what other people do for them. What is respect? Where has it gone? Why don’t we see it as much as we used to?

Respect means something different to everyone. To me respect means being kind and polite always no matter the situation, it means to treat others the way you would want to be treated. Others would define it as something everyone expects, yet they aren’t willing to give it. Respect means to give without expecting something in return, but respect is also a two way street if you want it then you should be willing to give it. People believe they are entitled to anything, they think they deserve the best, this is bad to think because then they become selfish. I came across this quote by Criss Jami saying, “Man is not, by nature, deserving of all that he wants. When we think that w...

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...ol. Because of this it is hard for kids to follow their parents example they just follow whatever everyone else is doing. There is also not so much discipline because the parents hardly pay attention to them and with the lack of discipline comes the lack of respect.

We need to start teaching respect more at home and at school. If more people had respect then this world would be a better place. Respect is like the root of all things good. With respect comes responsible people, kind people, less bullies which means less suicides, less crime, more love, and just better life. Lets teach the next generation to open doors for others, help the elderly carry things, listen to those in the authority position, treat others the way you would like to be treated, to show kindness for everyone even those who don’t deserve it then maybe, just maybe, this world wouldn’t be so bad.