Respect for All : How Being Nice Can Help You Get Ahead

Ever seen the movies or T.V. shows (particularly crime shows) where the cop aggressively interrogates a witness in the padded, mirrored, video-taped interrogation room? The cop insults them, their intelligence, their way of life, anything to get a rise out of them. In many of these cases, the cops have got the wrong person and they are being cruel. Usually after a couple wrongful interrogations the cops find the bad guy and badger him ruthlessly. In some instances, he gets off on bail or a technicality and the tables turn. The next event in this series is that the killer (or robber or smuggler or rapist) manages get a "good" cop away from the other, trap him, and kick the living shit out of him. Why? Well it could be because they're just a bad person. More likely... because the cop treated them like crap and now they want some sort of personal revenge/justice.

Of course, this guy is a "bad" guy, so it's ok the cops to treat him like crap. That's the general consensus. Shows like Law and Order and CSI would not do very well if they treated the criminals with respect. The masses want to see these people punished and if they are humiliated and degraded the way their victims were, that's justice!

But is it really? I say no. The only way to prove one's humanity is to treat everyone with respect. Being cruel, intimidating, vengeful, condescending, or just plain mean makes you know better than they are. This concept doesn't just apply to cops interrogating a witness or a possible suspect. It applies to everyone. When you go to a restaurant, treat your waitress with respect. Respect the cashier at the grocery store, the man in the car who cuts you off on the highway, and even pediatrician who says there's nothing wrong with your child when you know she's sick. Every member of the human race deserves a certain level of respect, regardless of their "class" in society.

Here are some advantages to being nice.

People like you more.

People will remember your kindness and may even pass it on or return the favor in the future. You never know when someone you went to high school with may end up being your boss. So respect everyone, you never know how you might be interacting in the future.

You might just make someone's day a little better, when it would have been the worst day of their week.

Showing respect will help you get what you want. If people feel respected, they are more likely to respond in kind and be more helpful to you.

It will make you feel better. The friendlier you are, the more you smile at people, and the more you talk, the better your day is. Science has shown that just the motion of smiling can make you happy, whether or not the emotional state is already there.

Respect for all humankind is necessary for us to maintain our humanity.