A society without respect cannot thrive. In order to produce a thriving society, we must respect others' ideas and their external and internal selves. No matter what we think, what we do, or what we look like, we all deserve respect.
It is necessary to a thriving society to respect people's ideas. When sharing ideas with peers, it's important to take their ideas into consideration, instead of saying no or 'you're wrong' right away. Take the time to understand their thoughts behind their ideas and even if you still don't understand or agree, you should still respect their ideas.
Another area that everyone deserves respect in is religion. Each religion is based on different beliefs, and it is disrespectful to knock down those beliefs just because they do not correlate with your own. Life can be frightening, overwhelming, and stressful. It's critical to a thriving society that everyone is able to freely practice what they believe in.
In addition to people's ideas, respect people's external and internal selves. No one has the ability to choose their race, gender, or natural appearance, so they should not be discriminated against for such.
Race is an external identifying factor, but it should not be used as a deciding factor. To decide that certain races deserve less respect because their skin tone is wrong and detrimental to the human race.
If one race disrespects another race, then it can easily lead to a split in society. When there is an argument, people take sides. If each race respected each other, then there would be less hate in our country.
Being white does not mean that a person is superior to a non-white, but that's how many white people in our country see it.
Another identifying factor is sex. Sex is more internal because the sexes have different ways of thinking and feeling. Women have been seen as weak, incapable, and lesser than the male since the beginning of time.
Eve seduced Adam and, from then on, women became a distraction. Being a female does not mean that a woman is inferior to a male. Being a male does not mean that a man is not allowed to like feminine things.
You should also respect people by not judging their personal choices and ignoring the gender stereotype. We all look different externally, but many of us look the same internally. As human beings, we crave love, friendship, happiness, and belonging.
When we respect people's irregularities on the outside, we are able to appreciate and celebrate their true greatness both inside and out. Respect their choice of clothing, their makeup, their glasses, their facial hair, their teeth, everything. Love one another for who people are, not what they look like.
There is a difference between respecting people's innocuous beliefs and respecting people's beliefs that are harmful to others. Respect is due to those who respect others. By hating someone for their skin color, their religion, their sexual identity, or how they look, you are disrespecting them for something they cannot change, and therefore your harmful beliefs deserve no respect.
A big problem with our society is that people are respecting others' harmful beliefs rather than letting them know that those beliefs are detrimental to society.
By respecting people's ideas and their external and outer selves, we can improve the way society functions. If everyone respected each other our world would be a better, more peaceful place, and society would thrive rather than deteriorate.