Respect, should you look the term up, refers to the state of feeling or showing a high regard for something. Ask someone what their definition of respect is, however, and you will find the term surprisingly difficult to articulate.
Anderson Selvasegaram, executive director of Suka Society, a children’s welfare organisation (Suka stands for Suara Kanak-Kanak or Children’s Voice), knows what respect means but his attempts at explaining it are not any different from most people’s.
“It’s when someone ...” he pauses, giving himself a moment to think. “You mean a standard definition?” he smiles.
“Well, most of the time, when you treat me well ... I treat you well, it’s normally conditional,” he concludes.
After spending a day asking children what they think of the term, trying to answer the question himself seems to take Anderson by surprise.
Despite the difficulties we have explaining it, there seems to be something inherent about having a sense of “respect.”
Whether it is for a precious object, a set of customs and traditions, people, or the rule of law, respect cuts across cultures, societies and continents.
It forms the foundations from which a just and smooth-running society can be built, by governing interactions between people and allowing us to live harmoniously. For it to work, however, respect must be reciprocated.
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