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A fable from the Panchatantra

A man once had a faithful monkey, a powerful beast aggressively protective of its master.

Then one day the man fell ill. While he slept, the monkey kept guard by his bed. A fly buzzed. It buzzed and buzzed and it flew right over the man's face. The monkey was furious. It grabbed a club and aimed it at the insect. One swing after another went in vain until the fly was finally dead.

But alas, when the mission was accomplished, there were no accolades for the well-meaning animal. Time, it seemed, had been rent in two halves by the swift strokes of the club. Before, the insect was the focus of all thoughts.

'That creature must die! Look at the man. This will happen to us all!'

Then the club fell. There was shock, there was awe, and finally there was despair.

'Whoever heard of using a club to kill a fly?'

Respect

I know a man who works really hard, but people tend not to respect him. He complains all the time. I have never once heard him say something like 'Things are under control. I am taking care of things.' Ironically, he does take care of a lot of things, things that other dislike doing, but he also complains. Just by virtue of what he does, the man ought to be of use to others. And use him, they do, and they pay him too, but they don't respect him.

Earning respect seems to have a lot of prerequisites.

People seldom respect a person who does not respect them.

Respect yourself if you wish to be respected by others. I have seen successful people brag about insincere or unethical actions. Respect vanishes right there. Success and power do not necessarily earn respect. They may fetch flattery, fear, or foolish idolization, but not respect. Of course, that is if you care about respect. There are many who enjoy flattery and being feared as much as being respected. Flattery is insincere, and comes from an expectation of receiving incentives in return. Fear comes from anticipation of penalties. Both satisfy the primal need of being bowed down to. Respect is more subtle - when someone holds you in high esteem with no expectation of incentive or penalty.

A person can react to a situation in a way that earns respect, or in a way that begs sympathy, but usually not both at the same time. This man, with whom I started my story, has spent his entire life playing the victim, begging for sympathy in his own way. It is hard to respect a man like that. Actions designed to earn respect, however, can sometimes earn both respect and sympathy, especially in cases where the outcome is tragic. The sacrifice of martyrs awakens feelings of honor and sorrow at the same time.