Dictionary.com has many definitions for respect which include nouns, verbs, idioms and origins, and of course synonyms. Perhaps the most interesting characteristic of respect is that it always involves particulars, points, or details. Let me give an example.
Their is a story about a tortoise and a hare common to many people. In the story the two animals race the tortoise go's at a steady pace and the hare at a quick pace. In the end the tortouise wins because the hare used up its energy too quickly.
This is respect. The tortoise and hare have obvious abilities which are respectable; the hare its speed and the tortoise its steadiness, but should we simply respect because of ability? It is obvious by the story their is a common goal to win the race; therefore, they cannot in the end be held in the same respect because only one wins the race. Of course it could be argued that they both win somehow, the hare could have learned a valuable lesson and now be considered a winner or many other fantasiful scenarios, but it is the tortoise that wins.
I am sure that anyone if they thought back in time could point out instances when they were like the tortoise and when they were like the hare. This is why I believe that respect is so crucial to life, because, we are all in a race for life and one day it will end. One day we will either finish like the hare, exhausted, losers or we will finish like the tortoise winners. In the end of life it will be determined whether we won or lost, we will not be able to judge our own race, declare ourselves winners, no that would be cheating, and impossible.
So if we cannot judge ourselves in the end we must not judge someone else, we must respect them if they are like a hare and if they are like a tortoise, because if we are judging someone to be a hare then we must be at an equal pace with them to be accurate, and then if we are at the same pace we judge ourselves and will end the race as a hare, exhausted from judging and lose the race. In fact in order to win the race of life humanity must learn to focus on the goal of life and let the judge be the judge. We must all respect or we will all be losers; the particulars, points, and details are for the judge to sift through we must only respect.
So what do you think; do you want to be a winner or a loser.
