As I look around me I wonder where the respect has gone these days! The respect that was so common when I was growing up has disappeared in this generation.
There used to be respect shown to people in positions of authority – policemen, firemen, ambulance workers, doctors, nurses etc – and definitely spouses, partners and parents! Now, it is difficult to find respect anywhere – at least, certainly within some sections of society.
Today we have the “Respect” campaign in football that tries to deal with issues of racism with varying degrees of success. But what about respect shown by overpaid footballers towards the fans who support them – and pay their wages. Last week I took my young daughter to watch the players at our nearest Premiership team (which happens to be our team) train. As the players walked to the training ground they stopped to sign autographs and to have some photos taken. One player walked past us and ignored us – and just as I was thinking the worst, there was a voice that shouted “Oi …….., show some respect, you’re not at a big club!”, it was the voice of the captain. And to be fair, the player stopped, signed the ball held by another young lad – and then walked back to us to sign my daughter’s book. It took away the thoughts that had begun to form in my mind!
I looked up the definition of respect in an online dictionary and found these:
- esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability: I have great respect for her judgment.
- considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgement: respect for a suspect’s right to counsel; to show respect for the flag; respect for the elderly.
I particularly like the words in the former – esteem, sense of worth, excellence, personal quality or ability. This shows what we should be looking for in people, recognising, celebrating and thinking of in the way we treat people.
We can’t change society straightaway, but maybe we could bring changes bit by bit. In our organisations, we should be showing respect to each other. We should show respect to the Trustees who give of their skills and time to lead our organisation. We should show some respect for our staff who bring their skills to further our organisation – often for less pay than they could earn in other organisations for a similar role. We should respect our volunteers for their passion for the cause and for the time that they invest.
If we respected others in our organisation (even if we didn’t agree with them), then we would be making a change in our little world! As people are then encouraged to live with the value of respect, then we would do so in other areas of our lives, not just in our organisation – and who knows, it may be contagious!
I’m not forgetting the old adage that ‘respect is earned’, but maybe one way we can earn respect is by showing respect to others.
Come on, let’s give this respect thing a try – and see what a difference it makes!