R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I read a Xanga today where a middle-aged person lamented the fact that younger people tend to think respect should be earned instead of freely given.

First I wondered what planet they were on because the young people I know like to throw around the word "respect" like a weapon.

"Respect me and my almighty, though severely underinformed opinion!!!"

Second, I couldn't help but internally groan over the semantic issue. The following are a few of the proposed definitions of "respect" according to Google.
1. the condition of being honored
2. regard highly; think much of
3. a sense of the worth or excellence of, a person, a personal quality, ability, or a manifestation of a personal quality

That third one alone has multiple definitions within it. The worth of a person is a lot different from the excellence of a personal quality or ability.

I respect the fact that human beings are alive and afforded certain rights as such. The right to remain alive for one thing. I've cleaned up my share of poopy butts, I respect the human condition. That I give to you from the moment you are conceived.

I do not, however, consider you excellent in any form of the word until you show me that you indeed are excellent. Why should I assume you are smart, funny, discerning, or hardworking any more than I should assume you are stupid, dull, gullible or lazy? I assume, on first meeting, that there are things at which you are better than average and things at which you are rather poor.
If you do something honorable such as rally your previously unsafe community and prevent children from entering the local gangs, thus making your streets a safe place once again, I will respect that. I will determine that social action is something at which you are effective and will listen to what you have to say when you tell me there is a problem.
But if you do something stupid, for example you vote for an immoral person with little experience and even fewer realistic ideas for global solutions, then I am not going to respect that. I'm going to chalk politics up to one of the things that is just not your forte, and a thing that I would perhaps rather you avoid contributing to in the future.

Will I still wipe the poop off your behind when you are semi-conscious and writhing in pain on my emergency room bed? Yes. Because I respect your humanity. If you want more than that, do something deserving.