Respect

No, the young people of today have no, or perhaps very little, understanding of what respect means, a limited and possibly skewed comprehension of the essence of the word. It may be partly our fault - those of us who were young in the sixties and early seventies led on a revolution that wanted to overturn 'outmoded' thinking and break new grounds for a new generation. It turns out that we were wrong in several ways, despite being very well-intentioned, not so much in the concepts as in the execution.

It is extremely important when you attempt to tear down something that you be ready and able to replace it with something viable that can stand in it's place, but in the enthusiasm of youth and the moment we never considered that. We were all for tearing down the old and bringing in the new without much thinking about what that new was going to be, other than different (we thought better, of course) than what it was replacing. It is now obvious that we - and all like us at the time - were monumentally naive. The result is a gap in standards in society and a confusion on how to behave.

Please let me explain the following:

Respect is about
1. Understanding and accepting the processes that make society function, though willing to change and improve same when needed.
2. Accepting the democratic process and abiding by it, win or lose. If we desire change from the status quo we pursue it within and using the democratic process.
3. Understanding that our elders and predecessors, for all their faults (whatever they may be or we may perceive them to be) have preceded us and provided us with the opportunity to live and thrive - WE OWE THEM OUR LIVES AND, FOR THAT, MASSIVE RESPECT! We are, however, allowed to criticise and judge them for committed wrongs/sins/whatever but not without reasons.
4. Whether we like it or not there is a hierarchy in life based on various criteria. We are welcome to fight to change these but must understand its existence and the reasons for it.
5. Our actions and general behaviour, not wealth or power, show whether we are wise and/or worthy.
6. Balance in everything.

Respect is not about
1.  Being aggressive and domineering.
2.  Shouting the loudest.
3.  Demanding plenty of rights but accepting few, if any, responsibilities.
4.  The biggest knife/gun/fist/bank account.
5.  Entitlement - respect must be earned and maintained.
6.  Colour, shape, ethnicity or exceptional physical characteristics.

And finally, if we are reluctant to treat others as we want to be treated ourselves, we are being disrespectful irrespective of other criteria; formal circumstances may alter this to some extent but do not, fundamentally, negate it.