Dignity and Respect

We all deserve it. So should we all bestow it.

The Favorites of the Emperor Honorius by John William Waterhouse, 1883 (public domain - Wikipedia)

“To forsake truth is to pay too high a price even for the priceless gift of life—for life thus purchased we could not live out in dignity and self-respect.” — Ethel Rosenberg, 1953

We all deserve dignity.

It may not sound like an earth-shattering bit of wisdom, but it’s worth reminding ourselves of this fact.

Dignity, put simply, is self-worth. And it is inherent in each of us.

In The Extraordinary Power of Leadership Humility, Marilyn Gist writes, “Dignity implies that each person is worthy of honor and respect for who he or she is, regardless of status or accomplishment.”

In 1486 Pico della Mirandola explored the idea that that humans could continually improve themselves through the exercise of their intellectual capacities in his groundbreaking Oration on the Dignity of Man (De hominis dignitate).

While this may not sound like news in the 21st century, it was a profound endorsement of the dignity of human existence in earthly life in the 15th century. It placed humans at the pinnacle of God’s creations.

The root of this dignity lay in Pico’s assertion that only human beings could change themselves through their own free will, whereas all other changes in nature were the result of some outside force acting on whatever it is that undergoes change. He observed from history that philosophies and institutions were always in change, making man’s capacity for self-transformation the only constant. 

Dignity is a fundamental aspect of what it means to be human. When you disregard or even violate the dignity of others, you make them feel like nonentities.

What’s a violation of dignity? Name-calling, bullying, cutting people off, stereotyping, sexual harassment, taking credit—anything that shows you don’t appreciate someone’s unique contribution or humanity.