WE Modern Humans want to be treated with respect. From a social point of view, we then also should respect and treat others in the same way.
Respect definition
To define respect: regard, esteem coming from a sense of loyalty, appreciation or admiration based on the high value we give another. We have or receive respect due to qualities, performances or skills. When you respect someone, you keep in mind what the other person does or what kind of person he is. It also means: the polite treatment or sparing / saving the other person.
Raise of status
Showing the other respect or reverence increases the other one’s status. Respect is a condition as well as a reciprocity.
The condition: I treat the other with respect if he treats me with respect.
The reciprocity: if someone treats me with respect, I will respect him in return.
When our status is being raised by another person, we will answer this by raising the status of this person as well. Raising somebody else’s status or to reduce the status of oneself fits in a long-term vision. The willingness to raise another person’s status will pay off in due time. Our status will be raised in return. At least, that’s what one will expect.
Respect and incomprehension
When showing respect or raising the other’s status, there can be a problem. There is no general rule that says how to do it. When one intents to be raising someone’s status, it does not necessarily also have to come across like this. And what one expects when being respected, does not have to be the same as what the other thinks he should do or say when intending to show respect. The pattern of expectations when it comes to status, perception and the actual experience provide sufficient room for misunderstandings between people. It can happen that someone does not feel fully respected, while the other person is convinced to have acted with respect.
Pay me some respect
Cultures and subcultures in the broadest sense of the word have enormous differences in expectation patterns and the actual behavior when wanting to show respect. For example, the elderly often say that “the young have no respect for the elderly”. But young people generally do show their respect, it’s just that they do this in a different way than the elderly expect or hope for. Conversely, young people also do not always feel treated with respect. They call this the generation gap.
What does that mean?
Respect is both cultural and personal. Yet every person needs to receive respect and is prepared to show others respect as well. This in connection with the possible return of a raise in status.
Imagine
A world where everyone treats each other and themselves with respect. A world where everybody shows mutual understanding and where people value each other.
How can you improve yourself?
Of course, every person is responsible for his own behavior. The only way to prevent problems is to explicitly discuss what is seen as a problem. Listen to each other and share expectations. To show understanding, if necessary with a slight reduction of one’s own status, can clear up a lot.