13 August 2011

A respect thing

A damp morning but a good run spent reflecting further on recent events.
The original meaning of the word respectable is, obviously, that which is able to be, or worthy of being, respected. In the 1960s in the UK, and probably elsewhere in Western society too, the term came to be a synonym for repressive and repressed – the opposite of the liberal values which were sweeping through that era like a fresh broom. This broom has led to a very healthy legacy of questioning tradition & authority to keep it accountable to society, but has also left something of a respect-vacuum in its wake, or so the prevailing narrative would have us believe.
A certain measure of respect is a fundamental human right – actually I would argue that it is a right shared by all sentient beings, and many non-sentient ones too. From that perspective there is undoubtedly a respect-vacuum, and one which affects all levels of society and which impacts on the full spectrum of life on the planet. Breaking shop windows and stealing television sets really barely registers on that scale of damage, compared to what we are doing to the environment and to each other on a daily basis in the name of "growth".

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