Respect is a word that has a lot of depth to it no matter what way you use it. The word by definition is kind of hard to pin down concretely because it is subjective, and it can be used in many different ways with many different meanings based on the usage. It is a word that everybody wants a piece of no matter how big or small the piece they get is. All definitions aside, the respect that most people want is the respect that is earned by the showing of honorable actions or personality characteristics. Be it dedication and sacrifices for one’s job or ones moral and ethical views and principles.
Politeness and a genuine concern for the rights and feelings of others in our society seem to have slammed the door in our faces. Whether in your personal relationships with others, or in your company, being polite and well mannered is required in all aspects. In your personal life, remembering special days, holding doors, and displaying good manners in general shows respect for the other person. That respect will almost always be reciprocated by the other
As William Ury states in his book, The Third Side: Why We Fight And How We Can Stop, “human beings have a host of emotional needs - for love and recognition, belonging and identity, for purpose and meaning to lives. If these are subsumed into one word, it might be respect.” Respect is an integral part of human nature. This is also proved by many philosophers. The first Western philosopher to acknowledge respect, Immanuel Kant, argued that respect for persons is the most important element of moral theory. His ethical theory states “all persons are owed respect just because they are persons, that is, free rational beings.” He emphasizes that humans are “ends in themselves” with an absolute dignity who must be respected.
A base which acts as support for any well-functioning society and a key idea when regarding others is the concept of respect. There is no doubt that in any public setting, respect is the number one rule on the wall. However, this concept of respect is poisoned. The very definition has been twisted to something entirely different through years of conditioning by society. My understanding of respect, how it can be interpreted, and how it is seen to children especially, has been altered by Frank McCourt’s memoir, Angela’s Ashes.
In society today, these characteristics are becoming less important. Although some people demonstrate these traits, they are not as well known. Society is not very virtuous, and most people try to be popular. Most people try to become popular rather than do the right thing. Also, people are not as patient.
Respecting someone or something contrasts with being indifferent and careless. In fact, it is quite easy to recognize the absence of respect; meanwhile, it is much more difficult to define respect in our daily interactions with people. Some environmentalists suggest that it is getting easier to survive without being respected (Fromm, 2016). For example, someone can inherit a lot of money, so his/her employees’ respect stops being necessary or desired. Someone can also earn a large sum of money through his/her own talent which is valued, as being a good football player does not mean to be respected, perhaps because of the inappropriate behavior towards his team mates.
The effects of this gender discrimination is that women are powerless when it comes to many roles in society. In other words, “although great strides have been made by women in the Western world, parity has not been achieved. Women do not hold leadership positions to the extent that men do… and people view more advantages to being male than female” (11). This portrays that women are viewed as insignificant to society despite all the work that women has done for society. Women do not hold as many leadership roles as men do, solely based on their gender, which is gender discrimination.
Respect is an important life skill needed to coexist with others in our current society. Whether it’s in elementary school or high school, we’ve always been taught to treat each other with respect. Here at JFK, our motto is “respect is the key to success”. The word respect, in my opinion, means to treat each other equally despite their difference in opinions, race, gender, or any other aspect that could skew your opinion on who someone is. I agree with the school motto, however, it doesn’t hold true in our school and can definitely be improved upon.
For a long time society has shaped how each gender should act and which traits are deemed appropriate and which are not. Due to how the general masses have grown with these notions, it’s been conformed to them and have tried their best to abide by the expectations that come along with the assigned gender. We are to do what society tells us though when you take a step back and realize that you don 't have to conform to these expectations as we can use our freedom against these oppressing ideologies. What I realized doing this scavenger hunt is that society pushes the patriarchy into our day to day routines. Patriarchy itself is a theme that resonates throughout society.
That is one of the main problems that society has come to. Men and women have certain problems that society has made for them. The society has gotten so used to saying rude things about others that they do not even realize what they are doing. There are so many ways that people could be treated as an equal but it is rarely shown. To me, Being equal is worth fighting by any means