Respect and Disrespect, Forgiveness, and Surrender

I have recently been a part of a couple of discussions when respect, or more accurately, disrespect has been the subject. The issue doesn't resonate much with me. In my years with the U.S. Postal Service, disrespect whizzed about constantly. One man's disrespect is another man's insubordination. I admit to being disrespectful and insubordinate at the Postal Service. For many years, my job there made me nuts. But more accurately, I was just a angry guy put in a bad situation. I bear a lot of responsibility for some crappy behavior over the years. It doesn't make me proud.
Hey, you know what? I'm not wild about working. I never much liked the Postal Service. I've worked as a reporter and writer, either part-time or full-time, but even though I learned a lot from it, I gave those jobs up. While I liked working on articles about 90% of the time, the only writing I would do for free is the book, story, or blog that I want to write. I expect my dislike of "working for the man" made me unhappy. It hadn't much to do with whether I thought my boss was an idiot and  he disrespected me.
There is no sure way to be respected by everyone. No matter who you are, expect "disrespect" at one time or another. So? Who cares? Disrespect is not a big deal. Your mate might disrespect you at times, surely your boss will, your kids, the checker in the grocery store, the dude who cuts you off in traffic and flips you the finger... Need I go on?
More important to humans is self-respect. Self-respect comes from a source far more important than some nitwit who cusses at you in a fast food restaurant. Who cares what he thinks?
The right to respect is not in the Constitution. In the middle ages, earls, dukes, princes, etc. could come to your land--whether you were a free-man or not--and take food, goods, and sleep with your unattached daughter without paying or even a thank you. If you felt disrespected, you could take your case to a court filled with more earls, dukes, and princes. The little guy usually lost these suits.
The rudest billionaire in the world might disrespect you, but what does it matter if one has self-respect? "Disrespecting" is no reason for fighting, arguing, or even comment. It is a fact of life, and such behavior only demeans the individual who acts rudely or insensitively.

Next on my list is forgiveness. Tonight, while watching television, a special on the Amish community mentioned the 2006 murders of ten Amish children in a Pennsylvania school. Some of the families of the victims attended the funeral of the killer of those school children. They forgave him. Why? Because they left their anger behind and put their trust in God. This is a very powerful notion. Forgiveness is a very liberating action. It's not always easy. But imagine the freedom forgiveness brings. I am going to work on this. If a group of men and women who lost their children in a senseless act of violence can forgive, then who am I not to forgive the wrongs that I perceive have been done to me?
Forgiveness goes along with the freedom that surrender brings to the human spirit. When one surrenders to emotions, and to the sadness or despair brought about by depression, it is the first step to figuring out what's wrong. Fight depression all you want. If a person fails to accept that there are reasons for depression or anxiety, how can the feelings be examined or resolved? Sometimes one has to surrender to move forward. Self-examination requires a clear head. Fighting depression often means accepting that something is wrong.
Finally, there are no easy fixes here. Becoming a better person takes a lot of work. If I happen to find the magic pill anytime soon, I will let you all in on the source. Until then, try surrender.