Respect is an essential institution in human relations that must be upheld because it's plays a huge role in humans interactions and societal order. Almost every force on earth deals with respect, be it humans or animals. Humans are expected to respect elders and those in high-ranking positions, as are animals. As you'll see every lion in a pride tends to respect and revere their leader, so does the bee colony do the same to the queen bee, and the same is the case in a wolf pack, as you'll see them submit to the alpha pairs amongst them, and that's an indication that respect should be held in high esteem.
Personally, I hold respect in high esteem, although it's worth noting that I don't really see it as a big deal when it comes to acting timid in front of superiors. However, we should do: we'll go give honor to whom honour is due, greet when necessary, and obey their instructions when issued, especially when it's towards a course that's right. Even though I tried as much as possible to respect my eldest, I don't really see it as a big deal if respected in a way that's most fashionable in our society in this part of the world.
You see, in this past of the world, once someone is older than you, they'll want you to include brother or aunty before calling their name, as it's seen as a sign of respect. I personally don't buy this idea, probably because I grew up watching many American movies and saw how they relate over there. I felt there's more to respect than calling someone brother or aunty; in fact, someone can still call you such and still be disrespectful, and that's why I went against this particular aspect of respect from my young age.
I started first with my elder brother and soon moved it to my neighbor, although I don't call those way older than me by name, but those with whom we're within the same age grade, I call all by their name, and before you know it, it causes uproar among those who see it as a big deal, who even tried to teach me a lesson by beating me, but luckily I've got height and strength on my side, and everyone who tried that ended up being beaten; even my elder brother tasted from that side of me, which I'm not proud of.
Although till now I don't see it as a big deal, I feel like I should have acted differently and not beat someone who's 5.6 years older than me because I've got the strength. Well, I learned my lesson and apologized to everyone after my dad dealt with me, but it didn't change my way of calling them by their name, and their only solution was to make my junior ones call me by my name, which is fine by me because that's what I always wanted: being called brother Victor, just awkward, I'm Victor, and nothing more.
Growing up, I've decided to leave the system of things the way it is; if that's what our society sees as respect, then it's best I abide by it. Also, at work, I tried to respect my seniors and even my same grade level colleagues, but one thing I don't like is seeing someone try to use their status as elder or superior to ride me; I usually do all it takes to not allow such, and this has happened on a few occasions at my place of work.
Since the first experience I shared was me being disrespectful, this other one is when I felt disrespected, and it's from someone higher than I'm. So I was teaching inside a classroom one day, and a superior teacher entered the class and asked me to leave because he wanted to teach. I told her it's my period and I can't just walk out half way through my explanation, but she wasn't having any of my explanation; instead, she started saying I've no respect for not ordering her and let her teach.
With that being said, I made up my mind that I wouldn't leave the class no matter what, and seeing how I reacted, she had no choice but to leave. I concluded my class and realized she had reported me to the principal, who called me, and I explained everything to her, although she scolded me for some of my statement but said the other teacher didn't do the right thing too. Being superior and being respected doesn't mean you'll abuse such respect or try to use it to override others; as they say, respect is reciprocal.
All photos are mine.