Opinion: Respect can have many different meanings

Respect is a good word. It means absolutely everything and absolutely nothing. Indeed, it has come to mean much more of the latter than the former, for it is invoked in so many different contexts for so many different reasons. MP George Galloway even thought it was a good name for a political party.

It is one of those warm words, like community, that you can't argue against.

Of course, we should be given respect and we should extend it to others.

But my understanding of the word has always been that it is something to be earned, unlike deference, which was taken for granted and generally, quite rightly, has now largely disappeared. The starting point in all relationships should be a basic mutual respect, but it is something that can be easily lost. For it to be sustained, respect has to be renewed through actions and behaviour that command it.