Why respect?

Because we live in a society that is highly competitive. To disrespect another is to place yourself above them in status and in what you presume you deserve. That disrespect permits denial of any harm such competitiveness may cause to another and justification that you deserve more than another. To respect another is to bring to conscious awareness that all of us are more alike in our humanity than we are different across nations, across races, across beliefs, and across gender.