Elect people who practice R-E-S-P-E-C-T
In 1965 Otis Redding released a song about a man pleading for his woman’s attention. Two years later the young soul singer Aretha Franklin released her own version of “Respect,” which won two Grammy Awards and quickly became a resistance anthem.
Aretha and her sister tweaked the lyrics a little and added the now iconic “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me” chorus. When her cover of his song was released, Redding said with pride, “A friend of mine, this girl she just took this song.”
The story came to mind when I drove a friend to pick up a medical appliance recently. In her late 80s, she’s more mentally acute than most people of any age. The equipment provider insisted on repeating instructions to me after giving them to her, though I assured him she “got it.” As we pulled away, I told her I was sorry about his lack of regard. She said it happens all the time, and she tries not to let it bother her. Age once enjoyed more respect than it does today.
The online Urban Dictionary defines respect as “Treating people in a positive manner that acknowledges them for who they are and/ or what they are doing. Being treated or treating an individual in a dignified manner. You must give respect to receive respect.”
In her book “Becoming,” Michelle Obama wrote, “We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean … and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect.”
For a while it seemed our diverse country was moving toward a more equitable, respectful appreciation of our differences. But racism, sexism, genderism, ageism, ableism and classism are powerful tools for shaping society to the advantage of some over others. In the last four years we’ve read tweets and heard recordings of our top elected official expressing contempt for a variety of targets. We’ve seen him mock a differently abled reporter and heard him belittle women.
We’ve also witnessed educated professionals hatefully pointing guns at peaceful protesters and calling police on benign birdwatchers. Customers have attacked polite employees who try to enforce ordinances requiring masks. That anger itself seems to come from a sense of having been wronged. We’ve seen the humanity of too many innocent Black lives fatally disregarded.
Apart from each of us doing his, her or their best to act with respect toward others, I hope that together we can elect a role-model-in-chief who’ll demonstrate the grace and respect called for in the New Testament. To achieve that, we must register, request a mail-in ballot and vote according to state and local requirements and timelines. You can go to nmvote.org for information directly from the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office.
San Francisco’s first openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk, said, “It takes no compromising to give people their rights. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no survey to remove repressions.” The same applies to your right to vote.