Respect for Elders
Question from Anon on 3/30/2008:
Hello Dr. Geraghty,
What is the essence of respect for your elders? For example, at the jobs or internships I've had I call my older bosses "sir" or "Mr./Mrs./Ms. So-and-so" (I don't often say ma'am since in my experience some women prefer not to be called ma'am. My other 20-something workers laugh at me for this beavior. But I always figured you had to address those older than you that way unless they let you call them by a more familiar name. Am I wrong? I am not sure if there is a Church position on this topic, so I thought it might be an ethics/philosophy question.
Thanks.
Answer by Richard Geraghty on 4/29/2008:
Dear Anon,
Your instincts are good. The Church teaches that all legitimate authority comes ultimately from God. Therefore authority of any legitimate kind is to be respected even if the authority does not believe in God.
Dr. Geraghty
Sometimes doing what's rights means having to put up with other people laughing at you but doing it anyway ~ showing respect to your elders by calling them "Ma'am" or "Sir" and refraining from being too familiar with them unless they say it's okay to is doing the right thing ^_^
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