Respect

Respect is something that can be difficult to define. One definition could be the thing that I might feel towards anyone who starts singing the Otis Redding song made famous by Aretha Franklin upon reading the title of this post. However, that would be a rather bad definition as, to be honest, I probably wouldn't respect you for that. I just wanted to link the title of this post to the title of the song. So perhaps a better definition of respect is the thing you just lost for me.
But however you define it, respect is important. Just how important is a question I've always found interesting. One question that I started pondering a few years ago (I've suddenly realised my ponderments can stretch on for a bit, like two years) is what is preferable: being hated by someone who respects you, or loved by someone who doesn't respect you. The almost invariable answer I got was the former. We are raised from a young age with a fairytale view of relationships, that love is paramount. Despite this, people still seem to hold respect as a greater thing than love. This feeling is so great that the idea of love without respect feels like an insult whereas hate with respect is perhaps favourable over a general neutral feeling. I think we all know people who we don't like but respect and we all have friends who we enjoy the company of but have no real respect for. Actually, I don't have any of the latter, but that's mostly due to a lack of friends.
So perhaps it's time the fairy-tale ending changed to one where Prince Charming decides Cinderella isn't necessarily the one for him but he understands and respects that she has had to work for the simplest things that he takes for granted, but he doesn't realise this in a condescending way but in a deeply respectful way. And they all lived with a proper understanding of each other's views ever after.
Okay, so maybe it's not a time to make that change yet, but perhaps it's time respect and honour should make a comeback.
Until next time, goodbye.
Respectfully yours,
Algar