Y Talk: …dis ain’t right by Brad Adcock

Most of us over age 30 remember Aretha Franklin and her Motown hit, RESPECT from 1967. It’s the theme song for my thoughts herein. R E S P E C T, she even spelled it for those of us challenged that way.

Respect meant something back then; today…not so much. Respect for your elders. Respect for the rules. Respect for the law (and those that enforce it). Respect for authority (if you don’t agree, question it, but do so with respect). Respect for our country, our flag, our military and our leaders. (If one is unhappy with their leaders, vote. Better yet, run for office.) How about respect for our bodies (hmmm…pass the pizza). Today’s kids are the fattest and most out-of-shape in history (pass the pizza).

Somewhere along the march of time we’ve lost our way. Respect comes with some caveats. Respect must be earned. It’s hard to respect leaders who are crooks and cheats. We should have difficulty electing someone who has either broken the law or tries to legislate to benefit themselves. This is an apolitical opinion. Our government has leaders on both sides of the aisle with questionable credentials, dirty linen and oh, sooo many skeletons. But we keep re-electing them! Did I mention respect for yourself?

Rodney Dangerfield used to say, “I get no respect.” Sometime between the late 70s and the 80s the prefix “dis” came into play as buzz word. “You dissed me” translates to “You disrespected me.” Special interest groups and our legal system have us so shackled in political correctness that it is hard to know who to respect and how, when and where to do it. Forget the why! Merry Christmas, In God We Trust and the Washington Redskins are considered taboo by the PC police.

When my golf swing falls apart, I always say to myself, “Go back to the basics…keep your head down and swing easy.” In life, the same thing applies. The basics to me are found in the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s so simple, yet it really says it all.

If the Y, the Scouts and other organizations whose beliefs are based on good, sound Christian principles, set the Golden Rule as their credo, we could probably drop the “dis” from respect. Rock on, Aretha!

-by Brad Adcock, Member Service Representative