Some of you may find it a long time ago – the 1970’s; but to me it is like remembering yesterday. I remember the first day of school. My mom pressed my hair. If you don’t know what that means, write me and I will explain! LOL She purchased pretty dresses for me to wear so I would look like a respectful, well-mannered and most of all well-kept, child. Mrs. Flowers was my kindergarten teacher’s name. She was a frail woman. She had to be in her early twenties. She was so gentle with us and sweet. We were almost whispered to, her tone was so kind. We took naps and she read us stories. I thought she was my best friend.
Then I met the teacher we all should meet in the first grade. Her name was Mrs. Thompson. She was from Longview, TX. She had a commanding presence and you knew she knew what she was talking about. She was demanding and efficient. She made me want to be a good student. She is the reason I spell check, everything! She is the reason I very rarely use shorthand with Facebook or when I text. I would never want anyone to assume I am not intelligent enough to spell what I mean nor have the ability to arrange my words. In fact, not spelling correctly or using bad grammar feels like a slap in her fact to this very day.
We used to have adults that we respected. We used to know to respect our elders. I know I was taught this but I was also shown this. It is a learned behavior for me. I can’t even stand it when the commercials get the best of older people. It feels disrespectful. Like that old KFC commercial when the kid beat granddad out of the piece he wanted. I wanted to spank his tail. The disrespectful little mutt! (But seriously?)
When did we become this nation of people that lost respect? When I walked home from school, I used to pass by a lot of adults outside their homes. I knew not to act up because they would tell my parents. There is one thing you can’t do to my parents is embarrass them or make it seem as though they were raising a bad child! I was their child! I was too afraid to do something that might put them in a bad light. So when I was around an adult I kept my behavior as that of an angel, as MUCH as I could!
We must learn to respect others or risk being disrespected. If we don’t stand up for ourselves we will be victims and not survivors. This can be our beginning but each day it is looking more and more like we are drawing closer to our own end……
Respect is a long gone standard of community and it has become a privilege of few. Parents don’t demand it. The media is blatantly disrespectful daily to everyone. The television shows are more interested in shocking you than teaching you. We have become so oblivious to the rules that we accept anything now as long as it feels good. But look at the results. To point them out would only seem biased and that is not what this article is about. It is about getting back to basics.
If we had the genuine respect for each other as people; each other’s privacy; each other’s way of life- If we could just try to see things from others perspectives rather than our own-If we could just try to be peaceful and love one another as we love ourselves- If we could just remember what it was like back then to want each other’s respect and want respect from others because of what we did not because of our lineage- If we could just try love first instead of accusations and perpetrations-If we could actually be part of the world we say we want but don’t have the courage to demand-IF
We said we wanted a land of the free and home of the brave. We wanted to be judged by our content and not our character. We seem to be losing both...
What Happened?
By Karmel