R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Aretha Franklin taught us how to spell it, Rodney Dangerfield felt he never got it. Our parents taught what it means and that it is a fundamental pillar of good character. Though we’re not duty bound to respect everyone in the sense that we hold him or her in high esteem, we are morally obligated to treat everyone with respect.
In the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Iraqi weightlifter Raed Ahmed made a decision to defect to the United States. What made him switch sides, so to speak and join the “enemy?” He told reporters that one reason was during the opening ceremony as a flag bearer for his country. He and his countrymen were told to turn their heads away from President Clinton. They had been warned that he and former President Bush Sr. wanted to destroy Iraq, and that President Clinton was the enemy.
Ahmed broke the rules and looked at President Clinton during the ceremony and he couldn’t believe what he had saw. When Iraq was introduced, Ahmed saw Clinton standing and applauding. He said, “I know that if the games were in Iraq, Saddam Hussein would not clap for the US.”
Respect is value that is best shown by demonstrating it. It gives us an opportunity to make
people feel better as we may learn something in the process. In addition, respect gives merit to all people regardless of whether or not you share anything in common. There is a widespread misconception that tries to convince us we should only give respect to those who have earned it, when in fact, the opposite is true: Every time we consciously choose to value another person’s dignity regardless of merit, we not only fulfill our moral obligation, we dignify ourselves. And people respect that.