Title oriented people mix respect with regard…Oladele Femi
In an atmosphere of the weekend just before the Xmas celebration, I found myself thinking of a post. I am aware that most people will be talking yuletide so I decided to do something that might provoke our thoughts a little bit. This piece is not borne out of my sheer desire to be an out-of-the-box kinda guy, but to say the least, I find it really true and interesting.
I realized that there is a wide difference between respect and regard. If my dad becomes a Governor of a State, he sure wont expect me to call him “His Excellency Sir” that would be awkward. But does it mean I don’t have respect for him? I suppose we need to understand that there is a difference between title and personality.
A scenario that might help us understand this concept better is responsibility sharing in academics. A Department with many Professors can have a Head of Department (HOD) that is a Reader. The title confers on the office a sense of responsibility for leadership. On the level ground the Reader is lower to Professors though they are considered to be on the same Professorial cadre.
My point now is this.
The title of Grandma is a result that she is the mother of my parents, not because of other reasons. So if she didn’t give birth, there will apparently be no need to call her grandma. Nowadays, we have grandparents that are forty (40) years of age, even less. And there are parents that are even sixty (60) years of age, but are not practically grandparents. Wouldn’t it be preposterous to refer to the older woman a little less than the younger just because she isn’t a grandparent?
In our drive to show respect, we should take cognizance that titles blur our right to right judgment and action. Show respect to personality; regard for titles. This reminds me of the saying that resistance to power is lawful, but resistance to authority is unlawful.
Best wishes, this Christmas period; celebrate and enjoy
DESIRE/PURPOSE
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