and that is my point,,, I was raised that the respect is earned by the years that person has lived and endured and survived,,,,just as we respect a judge by the ASSUMPTION that they have the education and knowledge to have earned it,, or we respect a boss with the assumption that they have worked to become the boss, or we respect a teacher because of their PLACE in our relationship

elders always have a higher place in a personal relationship, for me anyhow, because of the potential wisdom and experience they bring to the table

We all just do our part to make the world a better place little mama.....and when someone refuses to be polite..I say we kick the **** out of them and sell them to sugar cane plantations in South America as slaves.

That'll teach em to be nice!



pretty good points you have there Harmony. Just remember..some of our elders were complete dumb-@sses when they were our age. Being old don't change that.

Although age does bring wisdom to some, it is not an absolute science. Not saying that we should be disrespectful of the elderly at any time though.

And normal everyday respect is given until someone shows they are unworthy of respect and then you have a choice of how much you want to show.

I agree 100%

Respect is earned by the people, not some fantasy that they are any more wiser than the person next to them because they are older. Treat people the way you want to be treated and this illusion that they should respect you based solely off how many years you have endured probably wouldn't be so disappointing.

I also 100% agree

if that were even the case, the youngsters would be showing more respect to the elders,, and that would be fine too

as it is though, some of the youngsters act as if they think their YOUTH gives them an entitlement or priority over everyone else,,that everyone should cater to them or else face their wrath

the way I see it,, I respect my parents and I love them, and because I love them I wish for everyone else to show them respect

I view all elders as parents to SOMEONE like me,, and I treat them as I would want my parents treated,,,but that comes back to how poorly some youngsters behave with their OWN parents so perhaps I am answering my own question,,,lol

Seems like every generation is lacking manners according to the generation before. I don't know.... I see a lot of posts here about it, fortunately I don't see much of it where I live. The dominant religion here has the youngsters go out and do service projects all the time. They do yard work for elderly folk, neighborhood clean ups, food drives, car washes...I suppose it helps keep them in check for the most part.

I agree, but just like what has already been said: this has existed for several generations and the current generation isn't solely to blame. Just like greasers in the 50's, beatniks in the 60's, hippie mod and rocker in the 70's, and punks in the 80's.

Every generation has had them, and every generation dealt with them...kind of puts the last generation at a point considering they constantly complain about them.

I have only lived a couple generations worth,, but I see a HUGE difference in how accepted and normal disrespect has become. Yes, it has always happened(as most things) but I feel it has recently become tolerated and accepted and excused.

respect and manners has , in the past couple generations, stopped being a priority that families and communities instill in the kids

Unless we're discussing word semantics and there's another word out there that might be used differently, I was raised differently.

I give EVERYONE basic respect until they screw up. It's a sliding scale that goes up or down depending on what the issue is. But a basic, simple form of it would include not randomly cussing at a stranger.

Age has nothing to do with it really, I have no problems "sir-ing or ma'am-ing" children and its amazing what a bit of simple respect will do for them (watch them straighten up proudly, and they'll be happy to help with your questions or what you might ask them to do ) and what they'll do for you. However, then my actions and reactions can change depending on what anyone does or doesn't do.

If you give people respect and animals respect, you get far more positive results faster and more pleasantly. If either of them do something that causes you to lose your respect for them, then its a whole different ballgame.

Well, obviously how we are viewing the word is different as you can tell by my other posts. Common courtesy is cool, but I don't think that is really respect, respect is deeper in my mind...it is a showing of trust and faith.