Respect Due...Right?

Maybe not.

My friends will tell you that I'm a fan of speaking one's mind, whether or not it offends people, and  will pontificate for free speech right up until one tries to take action against another for reasons he or she cannot control or for aspects of that person's life that have no negative effect on anyone else. Hence, it bothers me when I put forward my own views (which tend to contradict the views of most of the people around me), and am told I need to simmer down and respect people's beliefs.

I will not.

See, here's the thing, the way I see it at least. Firstly, I respect persons initially as human beings, and then on their own merit: qualities I find admirable minus qualities I find distasteful. We all do this second part, at least, when making judgements of persons' characters - and don't pretend you don't judge, it's an automatic response. Secondly, I respect a person's right to believe what he or she chooses to believe. By all means, go right ahead and believe anything from ghouls to gods and from duppies (it's a Caribbean thing) to dragons. If it's irrational, I'll call you out, and if you try to use it to impose harmful aspects on society I will do my best to shoot it down, but beyond that, be my guest.

I  feel no obligation whatsoever to respect your beliefs. Remember, your right to these beliefs is well observed, but as for the beliefs themselves, I will not respect it just because you believe it, whether you're a stranger or darned near family. I will likely try to understand it, but I will probably not respect it. Hence, do not expect me to shut up about things I find fishy, or to watch you tell children other than your own about which of your gods impregnated the earth and which of your heroes spent how long inside a fish or which other hero put 2 of every animal on a boat. No. You've got to start respecting the writings of Dr. Seuss (the monsters and green eggs and ham, not the moral values as learned in the Lorax etc.) before that starts to happen. No time soon? Oh. Likewise.

So...yeah...Just thought I'd share my likely response if you tell me to respect an individual's beliefs: In short, I respect that person, I respect that person's right to have irrational beliefs, but I feel no need to respect the beliefs themselves. So, if I re-write and say the Lord's Prayer in reverence of Chuck Norris, then...tough.

Hope I brought a little clarification to your day. This has been your Humble Ranter. Happy reading and keep thinking critically!