Monday, October 12, 2015

Word of the Day - RESPECT

This world of ours... must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Difference is of the essence of humanity. Difference is an accident of birth and it should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict. The answer to difference is to respect it. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace: respect for diversity.
-- John Hume

The American ideal is not that we all agree with each other, or even like each other, every minute of the day. It is rather that we will respect each other's rights, especially the right to be different, and that, at the end of the day, we will understand that we are one people, one country, and one community, and that our well-being is inextricably bound up with the well-being of each and every one of our fellow citizens.
-- C. Everett Koop

So what is the common theme in all the quotes above?  The concept of "respect".

Respect is key to any human-animal interaction.  For example, if a horse does not respect me, then the horse will do whatever it wants.  Which isn't a situation you want with a multi-hundred or thousand pound animal.

It is the same in our human-to-human interactions.  Respect is key.  We as humans tend to categorize.  Bad policeman?  All policemen are bad.  Terrorist activity done in the name of a religion?  All people of that religion must be terrorists.  There are bad people -- but that doesn't make everyone bad.

Horse don't categorize.  Each horse is evaluated on its own merits and establishes itself in the herd hierarchy as an individual.  Those differences make the herd stronger.

There is a lot to learn from a horse here.  Evaluate each individual as an individual.  Don't categorize.  Learn about one another.  Respect the differences.  Respect one another.  It is in respecting each other's differences that make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.  It enables positive change. We can't blame our leaders when we can't extend basic respect to one another.  It starts with us.  Respect yourself and extend that respect to others and see what wonderful things happen.