Extremely controversial yet something that has been in my head for as long as I can remember, being brought up, we are always told to respect our elders no matter what and it is a very obvious thing to do but does this magic formula of respect being directly proportional to age work in all situations? Before you go any further, in no way am I telling you to disrespect anybody of any age, these are just my thoughts on the subject and I believe everyone should be respected on the basis of how they interact with others. If you disagree with any of the points mentioned below, I’m completely open to a discussion. An important note is that there are tons of exceptions in every point, use your common sense to guide yourself through it.
1.Disagreement does not mean disrespect
Probably the biggest misconception, at least in the Indian society, the first thing our parents and teachers might tell us is not to disrespect when we are simply trying to explain ourselves, there is an obvious exception of people who are overtly rude here but in a lot of cases the tone of your voice really matters but even then I can vouch that most people don’t mean to offend the person at the other end of the conversation. If they raise their voice for example, it's just the situation making them do it but another exception to be noted here is that no matter how polite you do your part, some people just don’t want to hear your part of the story and find solace in criticising you which essentially means they don’t respect you and a person like that should not expect something that they didn’t give in the first place to be returned.
2.People who are older are expected to right at all times
This portion reminds me of the beautiful scene in Skyfall where the new, younger Q, tells Bond that, “age is no guarantee of efficiency” to which Bond replies, “youth is no guarantee of innovation”. Coming back, I have personally found a lot of older people admitting that they made mistakes when they have done something wrong and on the other side of the spectrum there are people who are exactly the opposite and I honestly don’t understand why some people feel ashamed to admit they are wrong and I believe nobody should hold an ego for such a petty reason.
What can you do to make the situation better?
This portion might come off as controversial but I believe this is what should be done. Respect people on the basis of their character and not just solely based on age. Be the bigger person by having the manners to listen to someone when they are talking or expressing their idea and finally learn to accept everyone has a way they respond to situations, some people who you think are disrespecting you might not even be aware of it, this is where you read between the lines and make an informed decision.
Comments
Post a Comment