From the archive

You don't owe someone respect just because they're older

What irritates me is the demand for respect when respect means silence. Don't be rude: a reasonable request. Don't humiliate people: also reasonable. But agree with me? Give me money? Let me run your life? That's a very different list of services. You can be polite to a relative without following their instructions. Recognize your boss's expertise in one area and disagree in another. Help an elderly person without treating every thought they have as a revelation. Nothing breaks. Except the convenient arrangement where your decency is measured by your obedience.