I would like to preface this by saying that I love old people (usually). Unless I'm stuck behind them in traffic on a busy day, old people are quite pleasant.

They have great stories to share, wisdom to impart, interesting perspectives you haven't thought of and sometimes they just say downright silly and hilarious things.

But all that said, we really need to stop urging everyone to respect their elders.

No, this isn't some #AllLivesMatter rant, because... just no.

But really, where did this idea come from that those who are older than us ought to be respected merely for their age? I, for one, cannot get behind this idea.

There are plenty of elders I have whom I do respect, most of whom I know personally and am even related to in some way. But the reason I respect them is not because they are my elders, but rather because they respect me, as well.

The moment I begin feeling disrespected by someone, anyone, I am no longer obligated to return any respect. I respect those who respect me, and if we all adopted this attitude, people wouldn't be tolerating toxic relationships and abusive people as much as they are now and have throughout history.

Much like respecting your husband just because he's the man of the house can be dangerous if he's not a righteous man, respecting our elders regardless of how they treat us can be dangerous as well.

Likely, you have met many elders in your lifetime that were actually not worthy of your respect (why else would the phrase "respect your elders" exist?). I've met elders with sexist, racist, homophobic and xenophobic worldviews more times than I can count, and I feel 100 percent comfortable admitting that they are not worthy of my respect.

Now, am I going to fight an elder for these views? Spit in their face? Of course not. I would never go out of my way to disrespect someone. But my point is that I'm not going out of my way to respect them, either.

Not every elder deserves respect, and this is something that society needs to realize and accept.

If you know an elder that is worthy of respect and respects you as well, I urge you to respect those elders.

But living longer doesn't make you an authority, doesn't make you better and doesn't make you worthy of my respect inherently. Frankly, elders need to realize they are not above treating others well, especially their "youngers."

Respect is great, but it is also earned, or at least, it ought to be.