I've always felt that there are two forms of respect. There's "respect," which is pretty much your standard politeness factor. And then there's "Respect," which is something earned, something beyond admiration. I've never been one to grant Respect lightly. It has to be earned, and earning my Respect isn't easy, though it's not all that difficult, either.
"Respect your elders" is a common expression. And I do, if they're deserving of it. I've known an awful lot of people in my time who weren't deserving of it, as I'm sure everyone has. And of course, I have Respect for plenty of people younger than myself. Again, because they've earned it.
The one that's always amused me is this: "Respect other peoples' beliefs." Now, why on earth would I do that? I will certainly Respect that other people have certain beliefs, and I Respect their right to have them. But I won't Respect the beliefs themselves unless they are worthy of it.
I don't Respect the beliefs of racists, for example. There's nothing worthy of Respect in that view of the world. I could never Respect any system of beliefs that promotes racial superiority, or gender superiority, or superiority based on sexual preferences.
So how could I Respect the vast majority of religious beliefs? They are full of the same kinds of things. They are offensive to me as a human being. I can't Respect them. And sometimes it's even difficult to Respect that others hold such beliefs. That's how offensive they are. Sometimes I want to just say, "What are you? Stupid? How can you believe such a thing?"
But I really try not to do that. Rather than simply condemn others, I talk with them, if they're willing. I've gotten into email discussions with visitors to this site. And I always try to use reason in my discussions, rather than allow emotion to run wild, unlike some who contact me. Beliefs are tied to our emotions and it's not often easy to talk about them without allowing emotion to cloud our reason.
And while I certainly Respect that people have these emotions, I can't Respect the formation of attitudes based solely upon them. And of course, this includes the majority of religious beliefs, since faith is based on emotion, not reason. There's no rational basis for believing one race to be superior to another, or for male to be superior to female, or for heterosexuals to be superior to those who practice any other kind of sexuality. It's all emotional.
And that's part of what I don't understand about the beliefs of some people. The views often have no basis in reason whatsoever. And the resulting view is often offensive to anyone who does rely on reason.
Without reason, there can be no Respect.
