Sunday, February 21, 2010

Have you earned it?

I came across an ad the other day that said, "Respect can't be built. Only earned." The pitch, I would say, is quite effective in selling to its target market: sophisticated and discriminating customers. I would definitely give the marketer an A+ for the striking statement.

Most of us have been taught that respect is reciprocal. We have to receive respect in order that we may dish it out. It cannot be free of charge. Such is the cost of the virtue that we have to earn it. In some ways, we instantly earn respect by simply being somebody.

I was a disciple of earned respect. In fact, I used to make an accounting of it. Anything received was recorded as debit; if I had been remiss, I would have to guesstimate the value that I had to part with. No way. I had to be precise.

The established norm, however, is wrong. The intellectuals who introduced it to society may have erred. The teaching violates what is proper. Our right to be respected is innate. We do not need to earn it. We already have it, by virtue of birth. Likewise, there is no need for us to build it. What we can do is enhance it. Unfortunately, people give more emphasis to enhanced respect that we forget about the core.

Yes, I was once a disciple, but now I find it bothersome. Advertisements are very powerful in molding our minds. I fear for my two daughters whose values are still immature. I hope they will live not seeing any similar advertisement. My girls will bump into a lot of different people in their lifetime; I pray that Nicole and Stefanie simply deal with others in high regard. I was subscribing to an unfair standard for decades, may they get it right from day one.

Do we really want to live in a world where respect is scarce?

3 comments:

Pennsylvania slip and fall lawyer said...

Thank you for all the great posts from last year! I look forward to reading your blog, because they are always full of information that I can put to use. Thank you again, and God bless you in 2010.

Prodigal Son 35 said...

hi Pennsylvania slip and fall lawyer,

thank you very much for dropping by. may God bless you too!

cheers!

Prodigal Son 35 said...

hi Zuzanna Musial,

I am glad that you liked my thoughts.

Cheers!