It’s true I eat too many cheeto’s. I am also a little bit of a news junkie. These are two of my vices. Sometimes I keep them in check. Sometimes I do not.

Warning: I am quite wordy in this post. If you are here for the Wall Art Project please skip directly to the video. If you are curious about my thoughts on current events then by all means read on.

I can actually abstain from news and Cheetos but when I don’t it tends to turn into a binge fest. One bag of Cheetos doesn’t usually last long enough for the hubby to even know that it is in the house, let alone afford him the chance to have a few delicious cheesy bites. Likewise, if I hear a news story that intrigues me I like to dig deeper and find out more. What were the circumstances around the story? What did the media leave out? There is always more to tell. Once I have exhausted my search I am usually left feeling slightly more informed but with more unanswered questions than when I started. Most of my questions have factual answers like what happened right before or after the video tape that went viral, or why did so and so, do what ever it was that they did? I realize that I will never have the answers to these questions but they are still fact based questions that do have a concrete answer.

But after the most recent round of celebrity outbursts, starting with Rosanne Barr’s twitter account, sprinkled with Samantha Bees comments about Ivanka Trump and culminating with Robert De Niro receiving a standing ovation at the Tony awards, also prompting a new hashtag. I have a much more theoretical question.

What has happened to our respect for one another as human beings and fellow travelers on this earth?

And more chilling perhaps, what happens to a society when there is no respect? Where disagreements over policy or procedure are no longer discussed openly but only shouted down with personal attacks and profanity?

Perhaps some of the answer lies directly in our definition of the word itself. In my day, (I am showing my age here) we were taught to “Respect Our Elders” and to “Show Respect.” Flash forward to today and it seems that respect is only now awarded once it has been earned.

In 1982 when I went off to college I took with me a crisp new copy of Webster’s New World Dictionary. I still have this copy albeit much more tattered. Here is Websters definition for Respect from 1982.

“To feel or show honor or esteem for – to show consideration for – to honor or esteem – consideration regard – expressions of regard”

Here is today’s definition. I can only assume that it is googles definition although it was exactly the same when I used several other search engines such as bing, yahoo and aol. Here is what they have to say about Respect .

“A feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities or achievements.”

Note the complete elimination of the idea that you can show respect or offer consideration. It is no longer about feeling and showing honor and esteem it has become something that must evoke a deep admiration.

No wonder than that we no longer feel the need to show respect. If I don’t deeply admire you and the things you say and stand for, than it is fair to call you names. There is no need to mention the things we disagree upon you are bad and immoral so apparently I don’t have to show you any respect or common courtesy.

Ironically, I don’t know anyone with a deep admiration for stop signs but most of us still have enough respect for them to heed their advice. Shouldn’t we offer at least some consideration to those with whom we disagree?

I am not arguing that respect is not earned only that it can and should be given to those we disagree with in order to resolve our differences in an intelligent and civil manner. When there are insults and name calling there is no room for honest discourse. My argument is that feeling respect and showing respect are not the same but they both have value in our society and we should in our current climate safeguard the ideal that showing respect for others and being respectful to those who do not share our opinions is a cornerstone of our society.

To be honest I never had any deep feelings of respect for Rosanne, Robert or Samantha and while I am saddened by all of there words, I respect their right to speak them. They and they alone are responsible for their words and their actions just as I am responsible for mine. Furthermore, they are not the problem itself they are only examples of what I believe is a serious issue now faced by our nation. Political views on either side have become so radicalized. There is no perceived common ground and therefore nothing to discuss, leaving us with only personal attacks on those with  whom we disagree. It seems that today more than ever we are subject to the phrase “Guilty by association” If you are associated with conservatives you are a bigoted xenophobe. If you are associated with more liberal ideals you are a Tree Hugging PC Globalist. None of this is useful to solving the problems we now face as a nation and I can’t help but feel that the majority of us on both the left and the right have much more sensible and congruent ideals than Washington and the news media give us credit for.

I have a very small audience, many who will never even see this post but I have measured and weighed my words in an effort to be respectful and still speak my peace. The world is so much smaller now with the immediate 24/7 access to social media and all other internet activities.  We have all been given a larger voice than we use to have. We can reach our followers our family our friends and our friends of friends all with the push of a button. We don’t even know who will see what we post, tweet or comment about. I would argue that this very fact makes it all the more important to remain respectful, and to remind ourselves that no matter which direction you view an issue from there are valid points on both sides.

It is disappointing to see those with a larger voice incite such outrage and anger. I hope we are not becoming a culture where the loudest and the angriest among us are the only voices that we hear.

So I want to remind people that it is OK to openly disagree. That to speak to what you value and what matters to you should be respected by others and that you should also show respect in return. To believe more in our sameness then our differences, in order to root out the common ground, should be a pursuit for us all.

But that is enough for my soap box lecture. Sometimes I do get wound up about things and then ……..well, it’s just enough to drive me to eat a whole bag of cheetos.

All the details are in the video above below are the cliff notes.

Paint

Glue

Cut

Glue

Remove Paper

Frame

Happy Upcycling,