The Joy of Respect - Huge Value in Small Acts

“Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Be the change you want to see in the world” - Mahatma Gandhi

“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” – Winston Churchill

The Joy of Respect: Huge Value in Small Acts.

One sure way to enrich ourselves is to appreciate and cherish the value of all seemingly small things in our life. In particular, small things we do, like simple signs of respect for others.

I would try to convey here the immense value of each and every seemingly small act of showing respect to the people we encounter in our everyday lives.

Why is Respect so special ?

Why is it so valuable ?

Respect is not a small thing.

Respect is a very, very big thing.

By showing respect, we are doing something extremely important: Recognizing, acknowledging and honoring the value of human beings as such.

Showing respect makes us better, and makes our world better. It directly benefits the people around us and, indirectly, makes us a force for good, part of a large movement for the improvement of society at large.

A brief history of Respect

Let’s put this idea into historical perspective, as a living, growing evolution within Humankind.

Respect for the dignity of all fellow humans is a recent achievement of Civilization, and not the original condition of our species. It even continues to be denied in many parts of the world.

For hundreds of thousands of years people would reserve Respect for their own kind. All the other humans were considered inferior beings. There still exist small isolated ethnic groups living in large forests across the world, that have continued living as thousands of years ago. Some of these call themselves “the true humans” and call their neighbors by names like “the monkeys” or things like that, denying their human condition and dignity. This is the way things were for most of the history of our species.

As large civilizations evolved, they became strongly stratified, with small social groups dominating over large ones. Denial of humanity became internal to these civilizations (on top of persistent xenophobia). The small power-holding elites were considered “to be respected”, while the largest groups, like slaves and peasants, were despised, even by themselves. So most of Humanity were denied Respect, and even their human condition.

This pattern of “human” vs. “non-human” condition attributed to different groups, continued for millennia, until very recently in historical terms.

In the 1800's slavery started to be abolished all over the world, on the principle that all humans have an inherent value that makes them worthy of freedom. This was a huge step, as slavery, maybe the strongest form of denying human dignity, was always considered normal, as back in time as can be known.

But many forms of strong disrespect for fellow humans subsisted. Women, with few exceptions, continued to be considered inferior, as it had been the case during all human history, and still is the case in many parts of the world. The same happens to many people, like those suffering from mental illness, or stigmatized minorities.

Most people continued to be denied their human dignity, based on poverty, ethnicity, education, occupation, religion, gender, etc. Factors basically determined by chance, mostly by the family one happened to be born into and random events in one's life.

We are much better now, thanks to many struggles that took place relatively recently, from the Civil Rights movement, Feminism, the discredit of hate between nations and toward ethnic groups brought by two horrendous World Wars. And an active worldwide civil society that is on guard against denial of human dignity of any sort, and will protest loudly against it.

But we have not arrived yet to a situation of universal respect for human dignity.

So your contribution to this cause is still very important.

Should “people in high places”, “superstars” or “over-achievers” be respected more than others ?

Looking into the Oxford Dictionary of English, we find two kinds of meanings of the word “Respect”. One is “Due regard for others.” This is the most important idea, that we are interested in.

Another is “Admiration for someone because of their qualities or achievements.” Let's go now into this meaning of “Respect as Admiration” for the “Superstars” of this world. Are they worthy of more respect than the rest of us ?

Definitely no, I think. I will try to explain why “great achievements” are of no ethical value, and so no worthy of some “extra” respect.

As Malcolm Gladwell shows with many real life examples in his great book “Outliers”, the main factors that make “great achievers” are beyond their control, like upbringing, the family they were born into, or even random things like the month of birth (for sports). So their great achievements are mostly not their merit.

In his own words: “Who we are cannot be separated from where we're from.” And once one has an initial advantage, it generates even more advantages: “It is those who are successful who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities that lead to further success. (...) Success is the result of what sociologists like to call “accumulative advantage.”

So admiration for “big achievers” is not deserved: “Superstar lawyers and math whizzes and software entrepreneurs appear at first blush to lie outside ordinary experience. But they don't. They are products of history and community, of opportunity and legacy. Their success is not exceptional or mysterious. It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky--but all critical to making them who they are. The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all.”

John Rawls, in his most influential contemporary work on ethics, “A Theory of Justice”, goes even further, by pointing out with solid arguments, that not even the most basic personal virtues originate from merit. Key factors for success like intelligence, beauty, the capacity for intense, continuous, focused work, to name a few, are also given (or not) to us, by genes, upbringing, early influences, etc. We don’t deserve and “own” our virtues, they were mostly granted to us, and we enjoy them.

So all humans have the same intrinsic value, Some are luckier than others and become great achievers. As counter-intuitive and strange this may sound, they don’t have the merit for that, and thus, they are not deserving of any “special respect”.

On the other side of the spectrum, people that struggle with a very difficult life, or that live in extremely humble conditions (a large part of Humanity) are not responsible for their lack of “big achievements”, and thus deserve the same level of respect as the Nobel prize or Oscar winners of this world.

The final conclusion is that all human beings, and not just “the very successful over-achievers” deserve the same Respect, with capital”R”.

What about the most negative side, that of people that behave badly ? This is a very controversial topic, with serious implications (for penal justice, to name one) and so subject to much debate. Up to now, the debate continues. It’s generally agreed that civilized society requires to encourage good behaviors and discourage bad ones using rewards and punishments, “sticks and carrots”. But the question of intrinsic merit or demerit remains open, and has to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. And even the worse people have a set of basic rights that have to be respected.

Universal Respect

We have focused on Respect to other people.

There are other objects of Respect we should consider. I mention here those I regard as the most important:

- Self-Respect: this is a huge topic in itself, crucial for our lives. For a great explanation of Self-Respect, read the great article by Lumie, @lumieremilkyway HERE

- Respect to animals: should we respect animals as we respect people ? This is a topic of great debate, on the forefront of Ethics, made widely known by the “Animal Liberation” and the Vegan movements. We all feel we have to respect our pets and fellow Primates like Chimpanzees, etc. Maybe all mammals ? How far in the tree of life we have to extend the same Respect we owe to humans ?

- Respect for the Environment: respecting the environment is respecting Humankind, and particularly, future generations. We have inherited an (as far as we know) unique place in the Universe, where Life thrives. Our species has evolved to have so much power over it, that we are responsible for keeping it in good condition, for the enjoyment of all living beings including ourselves.

Summing up: the huge value of showing Respect

All this has a place in our own behavior, in particular with our small acts of respect to other people.

Respect to all fellow human beings is a great achievement of civilization, to be honored and treasured.

Celebrate this by practicing conscious, intentional, mindful Respect !

By showing respect and appreciation to all people, you are at the forefront of human progress toward universal recognition of human dignity.

While we should respect family, friends, mates and acquaintances, it is particularly relevant to show respect toward strangers that are disadvantaged, stigmatized or marginalized people in our society.

Displaying openly a great respect for them, helps the most the advancement of the movement toward universal respect of human value and dignity.

Summing up, by showing respect to other people, we recognize and acknowledge their immense intrinsic value, and the value of all humans, including us. In this way, we also enrich our lives, and help make a better world for all.

Thank you for reading this Discussion !

I wish you liked it.

I welcome your comments !

All the best !

Marcelo.

@Starmedia @Gozzil