I agree and would take it a bit further

I believe everyone's basic humanity should be respected whether you agree with their opinions or not. We all say stupid things sometimes and we all say brilliant things sometimes

we are right, we are wrong, we misjudge and we get it right....beyond respecting a person just for being a person...I believe additional respect is earned by one's efforts, personal, professional growth and integrity - jmho

don't often take the time to read the entire thread, it is evident in this thread, mere mortals can agree to disagree.

What brings about respect, is the others "core"

Belief system, moral expecations, compatibility, communication, attraction, a "connection" at the very core of oneself.

Doesn't mean all levels of the mere/core will always connect

Its what makes us interesting. Challenging, and often a pain in the arze

Respect is earned

Agreement subjective

I "respect" very few people, even ones with whom I agree. However, my demeanor is still polite and friendly until someone says something out of line.

In these forums, I often find people with whom I disagree find my disagreement as a lack of respect for them. I do not expect everyone to agree with me, and I can agree to disagree. Some cannot come to this state. When someone continues to present information to contradict what I say, I will present information to the contrary.

This has led some people to be very insulting! They take what I say as personal attacks against them when, in fact, I am disagreeing with what they claim.

I have run into this in real life, as well, and it has invariably been with men. If I disagree, I will say so! I am not sure what these men expect, but I suspect it has something to do with their machismo.

it helps me to start with respecting the 'human' qualities we all have which leave us all prone to doing and being 'wrong'

after that , I respect those things people do to OVERCOME those qualities and seek to improve theirselves and/or the lot of others


people can indeed speak in a disrespectful manner, but I usually chalk that up to personal issues of self esteem , which I think we have all battled with at one time or another(some just seem to battle much more often than others)

All this talk about respect, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

I think everyone is worthy of a certain level of respect. If for no other reason than our shared humanity. Since I do believe in a creator, I feel that everyone deserves a modicum of respect. We are all equal on some level. Our beliefs, actions, thoughts, dreams may set us apart from other men, but we all have the same mortality and humanness. Everyone who has ever lived was a fragile, innocent child. Each one of us has a desire for acceptance and love. Christianity teaches that we should love and respect the humanity in each of us, regardless of our failings.

I'm not saying that you respect people for selfish reasons, but your post did make me think about that. If we respect others for ourself, is that really resepct? I never really thought about that before. I just thought it was an interesting thought.

I can respect someone without actually liking them, let alone without agreeing with them. Much like Ms. Harmony said, I respect intelligence and knowledge. So, if someone can speak about a subject accurately and intelligently, I will respect them even if I disagree with them or even dislike them. I can think of a few politicians who fell into that category (they are becoming increasingly rarer though).

If I like, respect, and agree with someone, then that person is most likely a (future) friend of mine. Not always, but there is a good chance that person will also like, respect, and agree with me. Even then, none of us ever agree with someone all the time. That's just impossible.

very true