Respect

     Something is terribly wrong with the world and I think it comes down to lack of respect.  It appears crime is on the upswing, more murders, rape, theft, gang activity and terrorist activity.  Now maybe someone will throw out a statistic that shows a certain crime has decreased but overall we all know the world is moving in the wrong direction.  It's a sad situation and many perpetrators of these crimes are the young.  Committing a crime against someone shows you have no respect for them but it shows even more.  A criminal has no respect for his parents or those that care for them but most importantly they have no respect for themselves.

     You can't have respect for someone else if you don't respect yourself.  Respect is not something you are born with, it's a learned attribute taught by your parents, family or loved ones.  It takes a diligent effort of adults to teach respect to a young person.  When I was young if I did something disrespectful and my parents weren't around to correct me, some other adult would take on that task.  I believe it is every adults responsibility to teach respect to the young even if you are not responsible for them.  However, this doesn't seem to happen in today's world because parents always defend their kids despite their actions.  They don't want anyone else correcting their child, you could damage their child's self esteem. This attitude establishes entitlement in the child and shows disrespect toward others.  I know adults are not always right but neither is a child, in fact children are always pushing the envelope to advance their independence.  There is nothing wrong with pushing the boundaries as long as you remain respectful of others.

     I have noticed that people or groups that have a strong Internet presence will attract people that blindly follow them.  If you blindly follow others are you choosing their life over yours? May be we are searching for something and latching on to an idea or group that will bring us attention.  Respect yourself and be true to yourself.  "Just Saying...."