Do you think that people lack basic respect now more than ever?

Question

It seems to me that the level of respect we show each other has declined sharply since I was a kid (and I am only 25!).

I watch TV shows and kids are calling their parents and other adults terrible things. People no longer say please and thankyou to strangers and are even worse to the people they know. When people bump in to you they don't say sorry anymore.

Do you think that we have become less respectful, and do you think that this has contributed to many of our societal problems?

Answer 1

Yes, I think that people, in general, have become less respectful.

"Every human being and nation, irrespective of their power or strength, has the right to be respected. “Respect is an unassuming resounding force, the stuff that equity and justice are made of.” It means being treated with consideration and esteem and to be willing to treat people similarly.. It means to have a regard for other peoples’ feelings, listening to people and hearing them, i.e. giving them one’s full attention. Even more importantly, respect means treating one with dignity. Respect is the opposite of humiliation and contempt. So where the latter can be a cause of conflict, the former and its opposite can help transform it. As William Ury writes in his book The Third Side: “Human beings have a host of emotional needs- for love and recognition, for belonging and identity, for purpose and meaning to lives. If all these needs had to be subsumed in one word, it might be respect”.

Contempt and humiliation are the absence of respect, as are a sense of being unheard or not understood. The absence of respect or a perceived lack of respect often leads to conflict at an individual, family and societal level. Since the first key step to building strong relationships is respect, the absence of respect or the breakdown of respect are also key factors in the breakdown of relationships and in the occurrence of conflict. Relationships and contacts that are built without the presence of respect are seldom long term or sustainable."

Answer 2

Yes, people have become less respectful. As is commonly said, "chivalry is dead", and apparently this applies to all sorts of etiquette.

I don't think it's contributed to societal problems more than any other factor has though...older generations always say that the younger generations lack manners and respect for others. Times change though...you said that the level of respect has declined sharply in your relatively short lifetime and I would say that it has declined in my even shorter life too (I'm only 16). If you ask someone who's elderly, they would undoubtedly say people lack basic respect that they had when they were younger. But this makes sense, because if you think about it 100 years ago people were a lot more formal (like in the Victorian era, for example).

Answer 3

Yes, I believe a major cause of it is poor parenting skills. Children have been brought up thinking its ok to treat everyone (even their own parents) like crap. Parents no longer discipline their children with a firm hand...now days its a simple "time-out" that does nothing to drive home a point. A swift spanking on the rear gets more attention from a child than a whimpy little time-out. I'm not saying beat the kid or abuse the kid....but a spanking with an explanation of why they got the spanking and what they can do to avoid it in the future. Disrespectful kids grow into disrespectful adults.

Answer 4

Yes i agree with you.. It is sad when you see 5 and 6 year old kids cussing their parents and telling them what they will/will not do!!! I have had friends with such bad kids that i don't go around them because of that..Some parents are not teaching the same values that were taught in the past to their children..Alot of the problem comes from TV i think... It is a bad influence sometimes.. The crime rate for younger people is alot higher than many years ago...More violence also.. I could not imagine saying something disrespectful to my Mother or my kids raising their hand to me,,not in my lifetime...

Answer 5

I do believe you are correct. We have become a nation of incredibly impatient, nasty, vulgar, and rude people. What's worse, this behavior is glorified on shows like "Next", "Jack- ass", and you get the genre. (I enjoy a good laugh as well as the next gal, but I know enough not to take that stuff into the real world!)

All we can do, my obviously very polite sister, is be our usual gracious selves. Since we're a rarity, people will gravitate towards us that much more. Peace be with you...

Answer 6

Yes, we have become more disrespectful. A lot of parents out there allow their children to run the show and give them whatever they want instead of making them behave. Everyone is afraid to discipline them for fear of being reported for child abuse. But there are not violent consequences for bad behavior. Society as a whole seems disrespect each other and others property more and more and that's because they are allowed to get away With it.

Answer 7

I agree with you completely. Unfortunately rudeness is more prevalent in the econimically stronge nations and classes of society who think that because they pay in Dollars or euros, they can get away with anything. The first time in 1992 when I went to US I was surprised to hear "Hey dude how u doing" instead of the normal "Hello how are you "
When I went to Germany I saw youngsters behaving worst then hooligans while the elders where gracious to a fault.

Answer 8

Without a doubt, this lack of basic respect has gotten out of hand. I know it won't win me any "best answer" votes, but I blame many of our societal problems on lack of family planning. When people who have no class insist on breeding, the culture devolves, rather than evolves. When slime reproduces, all you get is more slime. Our society, in particular, seems to revel in its stupidity and low culture. I long for the days of elegance and good breeding instead of what we have today.

Answer 9

i totally agree with you. things are so busy and fast paced now days that people don't take the time out to do the little things anymore to keep harmony in society anymore. it's getting more and more rare to find people that are polite, especially strangers for that matter. you could be attacked in the middle of a mall and people would just stand around instead of helping like they would have perhaps 20 years ago or so. it's a shame, life's to short to be such miserable people.

Answer 10

You are correct, I have seen it decline since the 50's. It is up to the parents to teach but they seem to be lost. Hollywood, Television and Some Music are directly related to the problem.