One thing that has personally impacted me over the past handful of years is the topic of respect. As I sat on a Southwest flight heading to Boise, Idaho, I was reminded as a teenage girl was asked multiple times to turn off her cell phone because the door to the cabin was shut, that disrespect is all around us. She was one of probably 30 people who had to be reminded to turn off their electronic devices so I’m not trying to pick on teenagers and I’m not discounting the fact that there can be legitimate emergencies that need to be taken care of. Now this may be small on the grand scheme of things but I believe it is a representation of the attitude across many areas of our society.

Maybe you are with me in thinking that there is a lot of disrespect going on in our world today. Families seem to have lost the respect that they once had for each other. Businesses seem to have lost their perspective on respect in the workplace to their employees or vendors. Marriages have seen a steep decline in the respect for each other. People have seemed to lose respect for material possessions and property. What is causing this decline of respect in our culture?

I believe the answer is multi-faceted and very complex although we have to pick a point and start calling out disrespect. The lack of present fathers in the home has contributed significantly to the decline of respect in families. This includes fathers that are physically present but emotionally, mentally and spiritually checked out. Greed and pride has contributed to the loss of respect in businesses by placing profit over people. The lack of commitment based marriages are susceptible to disrespect. And the mindset that we live in a disposable world contributes to the lack of respect for property and possessions.

I remember in my growing up years, disrespect was not an option and would not be tolerated. If I were to blatantly disrespect someone in the home or out of the home, there were significant consequences to my actions. I cannot tell you how many times I have had parents and their teen in my office for counseling and I witness first hand words coming from the teenagers mouth toward the parents that are repulsive and rude. Flat out disrespectful! And the sad thing is that some of the parents do not even see it as disrespect because they have been so desensitized to respect.

How do you see the lack of respect around you? How have you been disrespected by those that are close to you?