Something I posted in another thread recently:
Respect in this case does not imply that we respect another’s actions; instead, it means that we view them as something more than an inanimate object. I treat a dog differently than I would a rock. I do so because I firmly believe that the dog, unlike the rock, experiences the world. It is a fellow traveler in this temporary world of life; something that lives, breathes, understands.
Those living beings are deserving of my respect because they have just as much inherent value in the universe as I do. I am but a different type of being. As an atheist, I also see no evidence for a life other than the one I am lucky enough to have. Life is the most incredibly precious thing that exists, for me. We are here, and we are gone, and we have but a quick moment to experience the beauty of the world around us. If I deny the respect I hold for life to another living being, I diminish my own.
The Buddhist perspective is that everyone exists with some amount of basic goodness. That is not an easy view to reconcile with the horrifying things that happen in this world. But I take that perspective anyways, because I think to do otherwise denies my own humanity. If I cannot see the inherent good in psychopaths and murderers, I cannot respect them. If I do not respect them, I do not respect the value of my own life. I see those people as sick; there is no way a sane, healthy mind exists within them. With luck, future medical advances may help us to help them. But for now, I must see their humanity in order to avoid denying my own.
When I have kids, I want to teach them this. When we respect others, when we value the lives of others, we value our own. We are strong when we make others strong. Strength is not control, or abuse. Strength is kindness in the face of darkness. Courage is not stupidity, it is perserverance in doing the right thing even when those around will not. Love is not adulation, but understanding.
The most powerful people that have lived were not dictators or kings or presidents. They were people like MLK and Rosa Luxembourg, Sandra Cisneros and Chief Joseph. They were people who had a love for the world around them, and were truly powerful. Their ideas have outlasted the falls of empires, of societies, and they touched and continue to touch more people than they could have imagined. Their power was not that of force, or gold, or divine retribution: it was one of strength, courage, compassion, and a host of other things that amounted to deep respect for the sanctity of life. They are my heroes, and I hope they will be my childs.
The only way we will continue to move forward is to pass this understanding on to our future generations. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be a black mother teaching her son to be powerful, and so I will not comment on that. But I will say that I hope my children are powerful. I hope that they can recognize what the truth of life is, and that they pursue that to the best of their ability, for their sake and other's.
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