Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Giving Respect to the Right People

One of the bonds that keep the members of a society close to one another is undoubtedly respect. Giving respect to others is essential if one wishes to keep the social relations strong and durable. Respecting others only for the fact that others are human beings as well and have the right to live in the same world is without any doubt a human attribute. There are possibilities that others may differ from you, oppose you and may even earn your hatred, but the first gesture towards them must be filled with reverence and esteem. 
Respecting others means giving them enough opportunity to express themselves and striving to understand them. It does not mean giving them worth and value because of their social status, wealth or influence, but admiring them for being what they are in their nature, behavior and thinking. Everybody has the right to be listened to and given enough time for proper display of his true nature. Respecting them means guarding this right.
In our society the difference in viewpoint and stance between two persons or two groups of people means being each other’s enemy. This sort of attitude has created a great deal of disrespect among the people. Is it really the kind of attitude that must be adopted by the most superior of the all the creatures? Does this suit the rational minds that have the ability to think and to differentiate between the right and the wrong? Such sort of attitude is really very damaging for a nation and does not let the cooperation, mutual respect and trust take place easily.
It is imperative to understand that it is basically the same right that you and your opponent demand and that is the right to have opinion. Yes, it is correct that you can have that right but you must take care and respect the same right of your opponent. You both have to respect each other and realize that what the other person is saying is basically his opinion, not a sin or a crime. If there is no such respect then there is no need of sharing opinions and ideas and then there is no other way of deciding what the truth is. First, it is really necessary that there should be respect for each other and then start the discussion and arguments so as to find truth.
It is also possible that a person may face different situations in his life. In the world where there are inequalities and differences, he may face people who belong to lower class or may meet someone who may belong to the affluent section of the society; his responsibility at that moment is to consider both of them worthy of the same respect.
It is also important for all the members of our society that they have the tendency to impart respect to others but on the basis of achievements and services that have supported in achieving positive factors in our society. As our society is still tribal in its true nature, it can be found that the people tend to respect others based on their family background and dominance based on money. Therefore, it can be found that the society members who are busy in contributing positive services, for example teachers, do not have as much respect as tribal heads who do not have even proper education and cannot provide something positive to the society.
A similar sort of attitude can be observed in different sorts of gatherings, events and functions. The people who belong to wealthy families, though may be even illiterate get every sort of respect. They are treated as the special guests and given the most of the concentration and attention. On the other hand the people who may have spent their whole lives for social service but do not have enough money to be counted among the rich class are neglected and not given their due position.
This sort of the wrong criteria has resulted in a society suffering from evils and imbalance. People, in our society, strive to get as much wealth as possible, instead of pursuing education and knowledge. This has resulted in a society that is suffering from myriads of problems as negative competition to gain as much wealth as possible in every possible manner has given birth to nothing else except social evils.
The time has come for us to change our attitude and amend our standards. Our society requires to fight social evils and problems, it cannot afford to continue in the present state indefinitely. The people need to realize whom they consider valuable enough for the society – an educated and knowledgeable person who has all the qualities of a scholar and can support the society intellectually or a self-centered, status-conscious person whose whole life has been spent by gathering money in every legal and illegal means?