i believe

Steve Evans

Ms. K. Anthony

ENG. 101-111

20 FEB. 2014

                                                        Why I Live the Way I Live

            I believe that we all have a set of beliefs, values, or principles that guide us through our daily lives. They can be as different as there are stars in the sky or can be shared as a common thread or motivating factor within a group of people with a common goal. I feel that most people’s beliefs, values, and principles are of a positive nature and help us as a society in the way we choose to interact with each other throughout the world. The question of can people have negative beliefs, values, or principles is a difficult one to answer. Not so long ago people thought the amount of respect you deserved was based on the color of your skin, your sexual preference, or even your gender. I believe in the past some people would classify those as negative values, beliefs, or principles but it seems apparent to me that society is becoming more tolerant and respectful of the rights of all people and the way they choose to live their lives. I feel my personal core belief is that of one of respect. I was taught from my parents that this concept beyond all others is of great importance and is the cornerstone of how I choose to experience life. Respect can be shown in a gesture like the way you talk to someone or how you treat someone, but there are many other forms.

            The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines respect in several ways such as;” feeling of admiring someone or something that is good, valuable, important, and or a feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way”.  I choose first and foremost to start with the attitude that we are all not the same and our beliefs and values may be different but we as individuals and as a society are entitled to own set of beliefs. To deny someone or something their right to believe the way they choose and to live their life accordingly would deny them the basic right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Throughout history people have fought and sacrificed in their attempt to gain the respect and right to believe in their personal beliefs and live their lives according to those values.

            I was raised in an era that the nation was at odds with people that openly and proudly displayed their personal beliefs and protested for change. I can remember the nightly news on the television and seeing college campuses filled with students coming together with common goals and beliefs and showing their support in peaceful demonstrations and marches. The Vietnam War was a prime example where a group of people did not agree with the government’s views and policies and took to the streets to voice their opposition and desire for change. Looking back, it appeared that one important factor was missing and that was respect. The respect for everyone’s right to exercise free speech. It was seen by older generations and the government as un-patriotic and as an attempt to somehow undermine the goals of the administration at that time. It couldn’t have been farther from the truth. I can remember Kent State University as one location where two opposing forces collided with deadly results. College kids were killed by an overzealous National Guard that were armed and who subsequently fired upon the protesters just because one side could not show the other side due respect. That simple principle of respect or lack thereof changed the lives of so many so quickly. I do feel as a society we have made great strides in ensuring no matter what our own belief is; we honor and respect the right of those whose beliefs are different. I also believe that we as a world have a long way to go.

            I learned not only to respect other people but to show respect toward all other things, living and not living. I feel that the Native American Indian understood the idea of respect for all things and they showed it in the way they lived. They never killed more buffalo than they needed and they understood the delicate balance between them and nature. It appears to me that they had mastered the concept of respect and they understood the repercussions of living their lives without respect.  My father instilled in me to also respect items that I had purchased such as a car or a house. To have worked and saved enough to buy an item and to not take care of that item would be a sign of disrespect. To respect those things meant to take care of something. To place value on something so as to treat it without respect, that item would suffer or diminish somehow in its value, importance or worth.

 In today’s society we have so many groups of people that all they desire is to be shown some form of respect in what they deem to be important to them. There are groups like Greenpeace and PETA that put value on all animal life and try to effect change by informing and demonstrating their core belief. There are groups that seek nothing more than the wanting desire to protect mother earth and its resources. Also there are groups of people that their main goal is to somehow affect a response of respect toward a value or principal that they are passionate about. Are one group’s beliefs any less important than another’s?  I personally don’t think so, but all we have to do is take a look around the world and it is apparent that many do not believe in the same definition of respect as I do.

            It is up to all of us to embrace the simple ideology of mutual respect toward all. As I continue on my personal journey through this world, I regretfully watch the slow demise and ultimately the possible extinction of things that as a child I took for granted. I think it is as painful for me as it is for others. We have put such and importance on money and the acquisition thereof; we have lost and will continue to lose things that we already know are irreplaceable. To think that some company is destroying the rain forest at such an alarming rate to only increase their company’s profit margin is a sign of disrespect. The realization that we are destroying complete species that have yet to be discovered or not understanding the magnitude of the destruction of an entire eco-system is a sad commentary of where our society place’s its importance. I will continue to offer and show respect to all that I come in contact with and hopefully society as a whole will do the same. There are some 6 billion people on this planet, all with their own beliefs, values, and principles. If we are to have any hope to co-exist on this planet peacefully we need to start with the basic premise of respect. Without it, I believe we are doomed from the start.