radicallychanged

Saturday, July 16, 2005

respect

Respect is the cornerstone of any relationship, whether it be that of teacher-student, between friends or between boys and girls. Yet most of us forget that respect is also important when addressing anyone, regardless of station, or their job, or their position in society. It is, in fact, a humanitarian right to respect someone.
Yet, in our society, we often overlook an entire group of people, simply because our self-image is so grand and enlarged that we overlook people below our eye level. these people include foreign workers, children, and people who work in the service industry.
to me, foreign workers are to be respected, because of the great burden they bear, especially domestic maids. The life they lead is so much harder than all of ours, and yet they bear it so silently and bravely, one can't help but be greatful for the source of inspiration that they are. They are cooped up, 24 hours a day in a small house, with no form of society except the occasional neighbour's maid, and their life is as dry and monotonous as a washing machine's cycle, going round over and over again without a break, till their contract is over. Their's is a life that no one can envy, the back-breaking work of cleaning the house, the feeling of imprisonment in the cramped quarters of their employer's house, the knowledge that their welfare is entirely in someone else's hands, and the constant aching pangs of loneliness that MUST grip them each night, as they lie in bed in their spartan quarters.
They have sacrificed so much for their family, it is a precious lesson of filial piety for anyone. They have given up the security of family and friends, the vast padi fields, the freedom, the chance for love to enter into their lives. If i were in their situation, i wonder if i would be able to accept the path laid before me as resignedly as they would.
I believe that it is only their due that we say a word of appreciation whenever they help make our already easy lives even easier, and i believe that it is their due that we actually take notice of them. As a girl, i am most impressed when a guy holds a door open not only for girls, but for maids, and more impressed when he says "thank you" after his domestic helper has helped him do something than the way they look or act around girls. That mindfulness of others that displays itself through small acts like these are very admirable, and in turn causes one to gain respect from others.

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