Monday, March 12, 2018

Can Society Function Without Respect?




An ideal society is a community where its citizens work together for the benefit of everyone. Over the years, many societies have flourished, while others have collapsed because they lacked respect - whether that is for different genders, cultures, authority, or the environment. I firmly believe that respect is the foundation for a successful society, and an absence of respect ensures failure.

As per the Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu had several incarnations, from early aquatic life to humans, and his latest incarnation, Lord Krishna, was part of a society that was intended to be Utopian. However, this society collapsed for not respecting women. During a gambling game between the two contenders of the throne, the Pandavas and Kauravas, the Pandavas put their wife at stake, and eventually lost her to the Kauravas. Disrespecting their wife by putting her up for gamble and sexually assaulting her were huge mistakes by the Pandavas and the Kauravas respectively. This led to an epic war, known as the Mahabharata, in which, it is claimed that all of mankind was wiped out, and what was believed to be a Utopian society crumbled due to the lack of respect. A more recent example is the Taliban, who disrespected women in Afghanistan and deprived them of education. This led youth activist, Malala Yousafazai, to start a global movement that toppled Afghanistan’s Taliban government, proving that a society without respect is not sustainable.

During the 1900’s, in Europe, different cultures and ideas were not respected and the anti-Semitic leader of the Nazis, Adolf Hitler, strongly believed that Germans were superior, especially to Jews. Hitler wanted an “Aryanization” of Europe, which meant that he wanted to exterminate any group who was not Aryan, or “pure.” Due to this belief, the Nazis tortured Jews and violated their rights. As a primary target, approximately 6 million Jews were brutally slaughtered along with others including the Polish, Gypsies, handicapped, and homosexuals, who Hitler deemed inferior to the Aryans. This disdain of other cultures and violation of basic rights happened under the cover of World War II. In the end, the society that Hitler persisted on creating collapsed because it was a community where different thoughts, beliefs, and cultures were scorned.

An important aspect of a well-functioning society is respect for its institutions and authority. A government is necessary to maintain law and order, however if not everyone abide by the rules, and respect authority, the society could quickly plunge into chaos. Our world is dotted with examples of various terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, Ku Klux Klan (KKK), ISIS, and Boko Haram that have forcefully taken over territories, disrespecting and disregarding the government and its constituents. Instead of following the rules and participating in the electoral process, they chose to go against the government, violate human rights, and spread terror. Many areas that have been invaded by such terrorist groups are now in chaos, and on the path to become failed states. In contrast, the biggest and oldest democracies in the world, India and the United States, both have thriving societies because they respect the institution.

Environment is considered an insignificant factor of society, and people tend not to take care of it. However, the outcome of disrespecting nature is evident. People pollute the environment by indiscriminately burning fossil fuels and emitting harmful gases from manufacturing activities. Air pollution has a direct impact on human life, as it is a leading cause of asthma and kills one person every 2 minutes. Continued disrespect of nature is causing global warming, rising sea levels, acid rains, and more frequent and intense hurricanes, which all is putting a lot of stress on society.

As society continues to evolve, it is imperative that we have respect for everyone and everything. In the past, advocates such a Rosa Parks, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and others have insisted on showing respect for all sections of the society, and have positively contributed towards it. Nowadays, there are supporters of campaigns such as #MeToo, and #BlackLivesMatter that are standing up against injustice, and demanding the respect they deserve. Females who have been sexually assaulted are telling their stories and condemning society for not respecting them. A similar cause is behind the #BlackLivesMatter campaign, where supporters are striving to not only raise awareness about police brutality against people of color, but to also demand respect for black people in general.

Clearly, respect is an absolute for a functioning society. As Albert Einstein once said, “Any society that does not insist upon respect for all life must necessarily decay.”

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