Respect

911 Words2 Pages

R-E-S-P-E-C-T Most people know Aretha Franklin’s famous song “Respect”, but what is she really talking about? What is respect in today’s society? Respect is defined in the Oxford Dictionaries as “a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements”.To respect someone, it is not necessary to particularly like them, but to acknowledge their position of power, their rights as a person (Dillion). Respect is essential for human interaction, and yet we constantly see politicians attacking each other in commercials or families on TV where the children are cruel to their parents. Where is the respect in today’s society and why has it gone away? Respect in our modern world has been corroded …show more content…

The candidate shown is actively putting down his or her opponent and using that to boost up their votes. Even our current president, Mr. Trump, has been guilty of disrespecting people who oppose his views by way of his Twitter account. Even calling a decision made by our previous president, Barrack Obama a “dumb deal”(@realDonaldTrump). The lack of respect shown between these leaders is broadcasted all over the television and viewed by many people including children. Seeing our future leaders resorting to that low quality of communication and argument leads adolescents to believe that aggression is the only way to get their points across. An argument could be made that respect is earned, not freely given. Countering that, Dillion states “every person has an unconditional worth called dignity… consequently, we have a fundamental and absolutely binding moral obligation to respect persons as ends in themselves” (Dillion). This means that everyone is entitled to respect because they are a person and have value. Another factor in the decline of respect, is how the interaction between people is shown on TV shows. TV shows in our modern age, like the animated show The Simpsons, show young people acting out against their superiors and even their parents. Looking up to these characters, the kids begin to act the same way. Yes, some people believe parenting to be the real cause, but studies …show more content…

In fact, schools and even some states have passed laws and policies in an attempt to prevent it (“Cyberbullying Laws.”). There are quite a few websites devoted to educating the public on the issue of cyberbullying. One example of these websites is stopbullying.gov. This site, created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, informs each person of ways they can help prevent bullying and cyberbullying. Which after all, is another form of a disrespectful interaction. As stated on the site, “ Establishing a culture of inclusion and respect,” is the top preventative measure to ending bullying in schools. Along with setting a “tone of respect” in the classrooms (Aspa). This shows that respect is an important problem in our civilization and that it has led to cyberbullying, an already established problem that is known by the general public, and other

Open Document