Richard Williams
I grew up with this word, RESPECT. I grew up knowing the meaning of the word, RESPECT. I grew up trying to show RESPECT for people. But I must confess that over the years I haven’t been taking this word that seriously. As I look back on some of the significant relationships that I have had, I could have shown a lot more RESPECT.
Across the Caribbean, in large cities and tiny villages, every child was taught that respect should be shown to everyone they interacted with. Of course some people were special, teachers, police officers, pastors, women and elders.
So how did RESPECT got replaced by DIS-RESPECT in the Caribbean? Nowadays, it appears that we have lost our way!
We no longer respect ourselves, our institutions such as schools, churches, marriage, and others. Respect is absent in the home. Respect is not being taught in the schools. Respect is not being demanded by even ordinary citizens of their politicians and so respect is not being earned, whether at the local level or at the highest levels of government.
The video below reminds me of how much work is required to simply change the way we look at the word RESPECT.
http://vimeo.com/63542994
How do I change the fact that I have been disrespectful to others in the past? I can start by saying sorry. You see RESPECT starts with “ME”
