respectful

  Yesterday I saw a few postings and read a few comments from people wishing the President would die from Covid. This morning I read where twitter, Facebook and Tik-Tok has banned any such postings and promises to remove them immediately. What a sad state of affairs when any company would have to install such a rule, a rule basically trying to teach people how to act in a civil fashion. It's the need to do so that I find appalling. And sadly I'm not at all surprised that there are those posting such sentiments. It seems to me all boundaries have been torn down, discarded and disregarded, as it relates to civil discourse. It appears the majority of us, myself included, have been slowly pulled into this over the course of time. It has happened in our attempt to remain current, to be perceived as " with it " and relevant. And how do we do that? It is a process of emulation. Emulation is an effort to match or surpass others or some achievement. Doesn't sound bad does it? It is when we allow that to become a competition. In my opinion that is what has happened over the last few decades. Instead of choosing heroes, we have chosen villain as role models.

 It is my thinking that we have forgotten a basic premise for harmonious relationships. That premise is: " being respectful of others is not a sign of subservience but rather a sign of maturity. "  (ABR ) It appears far too many now believe just the opposite and that's why they are constantly on the defensive. They believe any show of respect is a show of weakness. But where did that thinking come from? How did we arrive at this point? It's my thinking it has to do with who we admire, who we hold up, as those we wish to emulate. Yes, I'm talking about role models in popular culture. I grew up in the fifties and sixties. It was a time when we had heroes larger than life, real people though, not imaginary characters. Whether they were sports heroes, movie stars or musicians, they were real. It's true there was much we weren't told about those folks, their personal lives, shortcomings and failures. They were held up as an example of what was possible. Even when those people were just playing a character in a movie the lessons were clear. Truth, justice and the American way was the motto of the times. 

 What was the predominant trait of the time? Respect for one another. Disrespect was often met with violence or the very least the veiled threat of violence. It was a time of risk and reward. Is what you're about to say, in the manner you are choosing to say it, worth the risk? Is the action you're choosing to take worth the risk? Isn't all of that what we were being taught as children? I can't speak for others but that is the way it worked in my house. Corporal punishment was the means of last resort but employed when it was deemed a necessity. Open your mouth and certain words or phrases escape and that might be met with a bar of soap! Might also be met with a good swat on the bottom, hard enough to get your immediate attention, but not hard enough to cause physical damage. That's because the intent wasn't to injure, but to instruct. That instruction was in a simple topic, respect. You didn't do, or say, certain things out of respect. When you were a small child you required that instruction because life is a complex mix of emotions. Emotions often motivate us to do silly things, make foolish mistakes, and act too quickly. As I have written often in the past, "emotions are great motivators, seldom good guides" and we should strive to control them. Seems to me these days far too many people have lost control of their emotions, using those emotions as guides, and we are seeing the results of that. These are indeed turbulent times. And what do we often hear as the big complaint? No respect, I've been disrespected, there is a lack of respect. And an attempt to gain that respect is done how? By being even more disrespectful to the person than they were to you? That's what I see happening. 

 We have to be very careful when it comes to that. Emotions lead to revolution! The past proves that out with only a cursory review. Whether or not that revolution turns out to be a good thing is measured in the future. Our own American revolution has had excellent results over the last 244 years. I'd say for the majority of that time we have been respectful of each other. Despite the obvious missteps, some inherited from the "old" world, we have overcome many of those mistakes. Civil rights has always been an issue. America has made more advances in that area in a shorter period of time than any other nation in the world! 244 is young for a nation. The great Roman empire lasted for over a thousand years. What was one of the major causes of its' downfall? Christianity. I know that is a surprising answer but it is the truth. The people began following the laws of Christianity and ignoring the rule of the Emperor. Indeed the Emperor himself became a Christian and began listening to the Pope. Religious leaders held much influence and began directing the affairs of the empire. Empire and Christianity don't mix well and combined with other factors lead to the downfall. The founding fathers knew all of that and separated church from state for that very reason. Religion and the practice of it is an emotional thing! It is an emotional response to the pressures and joys of everyday life. Emotion and governance do not mix! 

 I mention all of that because Christianity, Judaism, and other religions teach us about respect. Obedience as respect to be more precise. Of course in religious belief we do so in the hopes of receiving a reward, eternal life. That's what Christians and Jews are seeking anyway. I don't know that much about the others to make a statement on their goal or rewards. I didn't include Islam because that is a  religion that includes governance in its' practices. In reality, an ideology not a religion in the strictest sense. Although I would say there is a movement toward separating the two in Muslim nations. But I question if you remove portions of your religious text, or just choose to ignore certain sections, are you then practicing that faith? Well, that's another topic altogether. 

 What of respect as a civil matter? Isn't that obedience to civil law? Seems obvious enough to me. In fact it is something I was taught, in fact a lesson often stressed, respect for the law. Respect for authority was a basic lesson to be learned as a child. We all heard the idiom, spare the rod and spoil the child. We were led to believe that was a biblical instruction, and it was, to a point. The Bible doesn't actually say that. It does say, he that spares the rod, hates his child. The instruction being, discipline your child, if you do not you aren't really loving them. It's a proverb concerning obedience. It's about respecting the law! But the lesson, in my opinion, is not just about Gods' law but civil law as well. In the New Testament Jesus said, give unto Cesar the things that are Cesar's. Obey the law. Respect is earned, not given. Respect is a reciprocal thing. If you want respect, you have to offer respect.

 All of this leads me to question, what role models are we following today? We are being told Columbus was a terrible man, the Europeans invaded the north American continent, all white people are racists, the United States has practiced systemic racism since its' inception, all references to God should be removed from our founding documents and any other government related documents, anthems and pledges. So to those children that are being raised without God as a role model what are they using what as their examples? What is the moral basis? What cultural heroes are there today? Are there any being presented in the fashion they were in the fifties and sixties in America. I'd say no, today they are presented as what? Peers is the answer. Peers, they are just like you and me. They make mistakes, they do whatever they like, and they don't have to do anything they don't want to. Sounds like what we thought as little children to me. It certainly isn't a sign of maturity! Allow me to repeat my opening premise: "being respectful of others is not a sign of subservience but rather an indication of maturity"