Whether I’m sitting in class, watching an event or walking the campus, I’ve noticed some people lack respect.

It seems that it’s starting to become all too common for people to develop an attitude with another person when something doesn’t go their way.

Instead of calmly talking to the person about the issue, people feel that using profanity and threatening to fight is the only way to properly handle their problems, but it’s not.

I’m not saying that some situations don’t call for more aggressive action, but trying to fight someone when unprovoked is pointless.

I have heard several people actually use profanity against a teacher simply because the teacher had told them to respect the rules of the classroom. There are rules that we all have to follow in this society. The world doesn’t owe any of us anything!

Not by any means am I saying I’m perfect because I am definitely not. All of us have moments where we forget about respecting another person, but there are people out there who act as if they have never heard the word respect.

I think the cause for the lack of respect nowadays is pride. Everyone has it, but some carry it a lot more than others. When pride overwhelms a person, they find themselves unable to apologize when they’re wrong, or even talk it out with someone. Instead, they would rather start a fight, take out revenge or walk around angry. This is not the way.

I say this not to attack anyone because that is not the kind of person I am. I say this to help those who do not have any respect. It only hurts your reputation when you disrespect someone else. Respect goes both ways. Neither person, whether it is a teacher, student, etc., should disrespect one another.

Respect was taught to us to better help our society. Without it, we begin to walk a path that could hurt or possibly destroy our future goals. So remember: respect is the way. Always give it to someone else. It will benefit not only the other person, but yourself as well.