Austin Jennings

Mrs. Erskine
Dual English
13 November 2016

The Virtue of Respect

As 18th century novelist Laurence Sterne once said, Respect for ourselves
guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners. Elementary school taught
most people that respect is a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something
elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements. That definition, however, is a poor
representation of what respect really is. Respect isnt only a feeling towards another
person, it is a feeling one needs to have for himself. It can be applied to more than a
singular entity as well, such as groups or organizations. The lack of it also has its own
significance and implications.
Upon a brief examination of respect, one would find that it comes from one
person directed to another when the other person has done an action that is impressive
in some way. When looking at the etymology of the word, its Latin roots of re and
spect mean back and look at and thus the word means to look back at. This
coincides with the dictionary definition of respect because upon looking back at a
persons actions, one can often have an understanding of why they did what they did
and therefore have respect for them. An example of this would be if Deans classmate
Sam got an A on his math exam, Dean would likely feel respect for Sam because of his
accomplishment. Deans respect is derived from his recognition of Sams competence in
math class, regardless of all other factors. His respect also means that he

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acknowledges Sams capability in math, and would open a door for him to reach out to
Sam in the future for help in math because he knows that Sam is capable.
A unique property of respect is that it is completely independent of the ideas of
good and bad and how a person feels personally towards another person. For example,
if Dean didnt like Sam, he would still feel respect for him regardless of his dislike
towards him because his accomplishment and ability to succeed is independent of
whatever may have caused Dean to dislike him. This property of respect is as important
as it is unique. This allows individuals or groups to cooperate towards a common goal
even if they dont necessarily like each other, as long as they respect each other. In the
business sense, respect is much more important than personal feelings toward another
person. If Mary was looking to hire someone to fill a managerial position in her
company, she wouldnt hire the person she liked most as a person, she would hire the
person whom she had the most respect for as a leader and as a manager. In this
instance, Marys positive feelings towards the individual would carry no weight once he
was hired as a manager, but his ability to do his job certainly would.
Aside from outward respect toward other people, inward respect toward oneself
is equally, if not more, important. Billy has to respect himself enough to make the right
decisions for his future, for if he has no self-respect, he has no reason to do what is best
for himself those he cares about. Self-respect can be earned by staying true to ones
values, consistently acting in a way to encourage the success of oneself and the group
he may be working for, and many other methods. The most important part is that by
respecting oneself, he is now able to work effectively and show respect to others. When
an individual has self-respect, he trusts himself enough to know that whatever actions

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he deems necessary are in fact necessary and best; he will also be able to recognize
competency in others and show them they respect they deserve.
Oftentimes something is not noticed until it is absent, and respect is a prime
example of this phenomenon. When people are being respectful to each other, it
appears normal and courteous and oftentimes the people involved dont think twice
about it. However, if in a business deal for example, one of the businessmen is
disrespectful to the other, it will be atrociously apparent. This will begin a downward
spiral, because once the other businessman realizes he is being disrespected, the
business deal will either cease or he will return fire, thus causing the first businessman
to further degrade his respect towards the other, and so on. A lack of respect is one of
the most cold-hearted ways to insult someone, because it implies that they are
incompetent and unworthy of any kind of recognition, thus throwing their whole outlook
on themselves and their supposed success into question. This is why lack of respect
can so quickly and so commonly lead to violence and anger, it stirs a deep-rooted doubt
in the person being disrespected about what kind of person they really are, and no one
likes to feel belittled like that.
Respect has the power to change peoples lives. In an encounter with a police
officer and subsequently a judge, respect can make the difference of receiving the full
force of the law or getting off with a warning. If the offender is respectful to the officer
and the judge and shows that they have made a mistake, the judge is more likely to be
lenient on them because respect shows maturity. However, if the offender is
disrespectful to the officer and the judge, the judge will feel the need to give the offender
a lesson and increase the consequences of their offense.

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Respect is more than a feeling, it is the display of worth from one person or
group to another. Respect is an exemplification of maturity and class. Respect is free
from the bounds of a persons actions in favor or against another, it cares solely about
his accomplishments and what he has done with his life.