You don’t have to agree with people, But you must respect them

As a parent of four daughters, and growing up in the South, part of our culture was to make sure our children were taught respect to people regardless of point of view, color, religion, and age. As my daughters became older living in Seattle, I would receive multiple comments about their mannerism, from delight to “ you don’t really have to say yes ma'am or no ma'am”.  Recently I notice many of our leaders not showing respect to their opponents, maybe because they have a different point of view, religion, race or sex.  As parents and leaders of our community, we must reestablish the basic rules of respect and teach it to our children. Let's teach them the importance of debating one opponent without defaming, threatening or creating a negative environment. Our children must know that is okay to be challenged with opposing views on an intellectual basis. We must teach our children the ability to say, “I respectably disagree with your point of view “ and be able to state the reason why. It has become more apparent to me, as a parent, leader and professional, while I may not have any control over how my opponent reacts, but every control on how I react. So let go back to basics 101 and reinforce the value of compassion, gratitude, and respect for each other, our loved ones and constituents.