r-e-s-p-e-c-t

I love that song. In case you've lived in a bubble your entire life, here is Aretha Franklin killing it.

We sang that song in high school show choir {I was a cool kid}, and we rocked it. As much as white girls could.

The title of this song is what's on my mind lately.

Respect.

Unfortunately, I feel as though this word is becoming a foreign concept.

I read a blog article today about the Steubenville rape case. In this article the author {shockingly a male} went on to say that he rarely believe 'rape' exists. While I agree this is a very controversial case, I felt this author made some seriously disturbing points. To summarize, girls are putting themselves in these situations knowing what could happen and have no right to be upset when it does. He found it more upsetting that these boys' lives were ruined than some silly girl who was drunk crying 'rape'.

The lack of respect for the girl in this case is disheartening. While I do not condone her choices in any way {and she clearly made some bad ones}, I cannot imagine the horror she must be feeling. I do not know what happened. I was not there. Neither were you. But as someone who, at one point in life, made some poor decisions concerning alcohol, I can safely say that I never took a drink thinking that it might result in an assault. The picture these kids took, the laughter that most likely ensued, and the public's 'horror' at the ruining of two promising football careers shows me that 'being respectful' is not currently on our list of important character traits.

My prayers go out to all those, boys and girls, parents and kids, that were affected by that case.

In my six years of teaching, it has become obvious to me that there is a general lack of respect for others that seems to be running rampant in kids of all ages. The language, the gestures, the mocking, and the complete defiance of those in charge are frightening to me. I was not a kid or teenager that long ago, and believe me, kids did a lot of stupid things back then, too. But I never would have even thought about swearing at my parents, flipping off a teacher, mocking a coach, or yelling at an adult. Believe me, there were many adults that I could not stand. However, there was also an expectation of respect given to adults. That didn't mean you couldn't question them. It meant you did things civilly instead of acting like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum.

Back then {I sound so old} it seemed that the 'dis-respecters' were the exception to the rule. I'm not so sure that's the case anymore.

And where do you suppose these kids are getting it from? Mom cussing at the driver who just cut her off? Dad calling mom all kinds of not-so-nice names? Uncle Joe keying his ex-girlfriend's car? Perhaps from all the lovely reality TV?

I used to think this only happened in the big cities {yes I was that naive}. I see it at my elementary school, middle school, and high school. And believe me, our town is the epitome of Small Town U.S.A.

As a prepare for my son to one day go to school, I wonder how in the world I am going to teach him respect when every day he is going to see a complete lack of it all around him.