Respect and Why I Think The US Needs More Of It.

Oh look, this is a subject I will probably get a lot of hate for, but what else is new?
I understand that respect is taught in most cases. However, there are cultures where respect plays an important role. Sadly, I have come to realize that there are way too many children and younger adults who don't seem to possess a lot of respect but don't be fooled. I've run into older ladies and gentlemen who didn't have any respect or any politeness in their bones.
As you can read in another post of mine, I have been lately in a rut, or like a deep dark hole. One of the reasons I'm in it is due to my age because I'm just not where I wanted to be this stage in my life.
The reason why I want to talk about respect is that another country's culture and its view of respect for older generations is what started to pull me out of this hole.
There have been way too many times where younger people, especially teenagers, called me by the B-word, made fun of me, or things like that. Holding the door open is common here in the south, but even here I have started to notice that the generations that are now in their teenage years have stopped holding the door open. Respect and politeness are what I ingrained in my daughter from the time she was little on along with "please" and "thank you". These small three words have become a rare sight in the world. What has happened?

In Korea, there are different "nicknames" you call people who are older or younger than you. As I am currently learning Korean and talking a lot to people who are in Korea as part of a language exchange, I get to talk to people of a lot of different age groups, even though mine is more the 20s age group. Well, I got to talk to someone and when he noticed that I am just 2 years older than him he called me Noona 누나. This is what males call older females. This super-small gesture of respect made a huge difference in my mindset. It started to build the ladder that I needed to get out of this hole that I am stuck in.

It also made me think, why is it that a stranger who is in a different country is polite and even though he's really close to my age, he is still respectful, while kids here look at you sideways when you're walking the dog. Why is it hard for so many parents to teach their children respect? Is it just because I got to experience so many countries and their cultures, or is it because parents have gotten lazy?

In our old neighborhood, I got to hear about middle schoolers being insanely disrespectful to the bus driver, their fellow students, older children and even teachers. The mouth that has grown on children is ridiculous. The way they think they could talk to an adult is so wrong. It's cool being mouthy and disrespectful to adults now as if this is the only way to be accepted by your peers in school. However, you would only be cool and accepted by the students that will go down the criminal line. Sadly, I saw this as well in our own neighborhood.

What I wish is that respect would return to this country. There is no need to be so angry and rude all the time. We are only here on this earth for a short amount of time. Why leave an image of yourself in such a bad light? Why not be polite and try to make a difference in this world?

I love this part so much about Korea and it makes friendships so much more meaningful as well.
Just think about your life and how you respect other people and maybe just keep your eyes a little more open about how the world around you acts.

xoxo, Nicole