There is a new attitude that has been growing over the last few decades, and I believe it’s pretty well full grown by now. It’s sad, because I don’t believe in the perspective of this specific attitude.

In today’s society, I believe mostly among our youth, there is an overwhelming attitude that respect must be earned. This is not just an attitude of our youth either; however they seem to be more vocal about it. Perhaps I’m just old fashioned, I believe in the old axiom – “we get what we give”. If I meet someone for the first time, I try to give them my respect, and in return I hope to gain their respect in turn. Perhaps this is what people refer to as earning respect, but I wasn’t working at anything to earn anything … I merely gave it away. There are so many out there that when meeting someone for the first time they are stand-offish and will barely even say hello.

This is a switch from days gone by. When I was being raised as a child, I was taught to respect my elders. It didn’t matter who they were, if I disrespected an older person I heard about it, sometime even after a slap on the behind!

If you want respect then first you must give it. In my opinion, in regard to respect the only kind of respect that we earn is DISRESPECT.

Love and Bright blessings ~ Richard