Step-by-step explanation:
Dignity and respect are words with profound meaning but they’re also words that are usually heard when we are being lectured at or corrected. So it’s only normal that we struggle to truly understand or internalize their significance.
Here are our definitions at Cultures of Dignity:
Dignity: From the Latin word dignitas, meaning “to be worthy.”
As in: All people have the right to be recognized for their inherent humanity and treated ethically. Dignity is a given. You just have it and no one can take it away.
Respect: From the Latin word respectus, meaning “to look back at.”
As in: showing admiration for someone because of their abilities, qualities or achievements. Respect is earned. You are respected by others for what you have achieved, experienced and how you have handled yourself as you have achieved accomplishments.
The problem is we use respect in two distinctively different ways: Recognizing a power or status difference between people or recognizing the value of a person. When it comes to a relationship, we commonly frame being respectful as being polite, obedient and following the rules. In this context, questioning the rules or challenging the person enforcing
the rules is often perceived as defiant, rude, disrespectful and subject to punishment.
The questions then become:
Should you respect someone in a position of authority who abuses power?
Should you respect someone who doesn’t treat others with dignity?
Even if they’re older than you?
Even if they have more seniority than you?
Even if they have more experience than you?
If dignity is a given that can’t be taken away, what does it look like to treat someone you don’t respect with dignity?
If we use dignity as our anchor and ground our work in the belief that every person has value, then we can separate people’s abusive actions from their essential humanity. For example, there may be a boss at work who belittles, bullies, or embarrasses people under them in front of others. The boss does not need to be respected based on their behavior but they need to be treated with dignity. It may look like the same thing—treating the person with respect versus treating that person with dignity but it is an important distinction. Respect acknowledges the behavior while dignity teaches the importance of civility and humanity.