The Lost art of RESPECT.

If there is one character trait I would say is missing in many adolescents and young adults this day and age, its being respectful. People today seem to have forgotten what the word RESPECT means. To some extent, this goes beyond just the younger generation and extends to a large majority of people. It’s as if we have forgotten what good morals and right conduct are all about.

Just this past week, two striking examples of this lack of respect was seen by the world. First, there was that infamous Serena Williams outburst at a line judge who called her out for a foot fault. Understandably, an athlete with passion for her game will feel frustrated and angered about such a call, but there was no excuse for the gross disrespect shown in court. Second, we saw Kanye West disrespect the young country star Taylor Swift. Perhaps West’s opinion that Beyoncé deserved the award more than Swift was valid, but coming up on stage and rudely interrupting Swift’s acceptance speech was greatly disrespectful, not just to Taylor Swift, but to the music industry and the public as well.

These are just a few if very public displays of disrespect. In a more private arena, we see how children disrespect parents by answering back (explaining their side or reasoning out politely is a different story). We see how people violate personal space and privacy through stealing their photos and blog posts. In traffic, we have people who swerve left and right, totally disregarding the fact that other motorists try to patiently wait in their place to get to their destinations too.

It seems to me that in the five years I’ve been teaching in the undergraduate level, I have seen a steady decline in the level of respect students show me in class. For example, I notice now that when I handle freshman classes, a great majority of the students no longer sit quietly and show proper classroom decorum. I remember that as young as I was back when I first started teaching, when I’d walk into a classroom, I commanded respect. I didn’t have to do anything, but as soon as I’d enter, the students would straighten up and wait expectantly. This is very different to today’s behavior. Students now are grossly disrespectful. They talk out loud in their seats, they go on Facebook in the middle of a lecture and they even take calls while I am talking or explaining something. I do not think these sentiments are solely mine, as I have had many a discussion with colleagues about how different students are now from the time they started teaching. Compared, too, to the time I was a student, I don’t think any of my classmates were as disrespectful as students today.

This got me to thinking, what happened to the people of today?  My hypothesis is that perhaps we’ve encouraged them so much to stand up for what they believe in, but perhaps we have not highlighted the importance of boundaries. Perhaps it’s also that we have taken this for granted. It saddens me to see how differently simple etiquette and good manners are grossly overlooked this day and age. It begs the question: where are we going wrong? Did we create a generation of the uncouth and uneducated?

With all that said, what would it take for tomorrows future leaders start valuing one of the most basic tenets of human behavior — respecting each other? How can we expect people to respect the law or honor integrity if we can’t even treat each other right?

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