Throughout its history, human society has already developed certain norms of behavior. True, we all notice that many of them are rather conditional and cannot replace morality. For example, respect for parents is expressed in such behavior as recognition of their rights and priority position. Thanks to our grandparents, fathers and mothers, who invested in us spiritual strength, every day we discovered the world around us, grew and developed and acquired the skills of ethical and moral behavior.
It was these people dear to us who brought up in us respect for the elders, for their age and rich experience, life achievements or mistakes, taught us to recognize the value of the people around us, which include not only family members, but also neighbors, friends, colleagues, leaders of local or state importance, fellow citizens. The criteria for such behavior should include not only the innate right of every inhabitant of the earth to a humane attitude, but also the authority and status earned by his personal actions.
One of the main forms of behavior that reflects respect forsenior, manifested in politeness. What is it? If we turn to the Old Slavonic language, the father of modern Russian, it becomes clear that “vezha” is the root of this word, and in the old days it meant “knowledge”. That is why a polite person is one who knows the rules of behavior in society and the value of courtesy. True, in our days, for many, politeness is only the observance of good manners, in which internal respect for elders is not shown, but formality is observed. This is fundamentally different from a truly dignified attitude based on exceptional benevolence.
An equally valuable form of showing respect is tactful behavior. It lies in the ability to balance one's desires with the needs and needs of others, the ability to observe certain boundaries in behavior. Tactfulness is brought up over the years and instills an intuitive finding of the right tone and degree of expression of one's feelings in communication. Mothers, grandmothers and aunts teach this property from an early age, therefore respect for a woman and reverence for a mother is based on it.
Etiquette politeness and lack of tact, which cannot be obtained without a long and skillful spiritual education, breed cynicism. Unfortunately, some revere him for his virtue. Why? Because in such a person there is no spiritual foundation that reinforces and maintains respect for the elders, for the deserving younger ones and for the whole world around.
Therefore, each of our contemporary decides for himself whom and for what to respect, evaluating actionsand the actions of others, based on their spiritual upbringing and general worldview. People brought up in formal conditions, on the desire to cynically obtain well-being only for themselves, are always outwardly polite and respectful, but this is very far from the true meaning of this concept. To respect a person means to sincerely recognize his high status and merits. This is the right way, giving hope for the future.
