The Latin origin of popularity is “root pop”
meaning “the people” It is the state or condition of being liked, admired and supported
by many people. It is a very strong status, but may have more or less
importance to different people. It tends to have negative meaning but is still
something that is highly desired.
WHAT IS RESPECT?
Respect
comes from “root spect” meaning “to look back” It is a feeling of deep
admiration for someone or something evoked by their abilities, qualities and
achievements. It is to have deep regard for another person’s beliefs.
EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE
POPULAR ARE:
First, Osama Bin Laden. Osama Bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia
in 1957 or 1958. On May 1, 2011, American soldiers killed him in his compound
in Pakistan. Intelligence officials believe Bin Laden was responsible for many
deadly acts of terrorism, including the 1998 bombing of the U.S embassies in
Kenya and Tanzania.
Secondly,
Abubakar Shekau. Abubakar Shekau was born between 1965 and
1975, he was hated by virtually all Nigerians. He is the head of the terrorist
group called “Boko Haram” that was responsible for the deaths of thousands of
Nigerians and the kidnapping of the Chibok girls.
EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE
RESPECTED ARE:
First, William Henry
Bill Gate III. Bill Gate was born
on October 28, 1955. He is an American business magnate, investor, author, and
philanthropist, Since 1987, Gate has been included in the Forbes list of the
world’s wealthiest people and he is currently the richest person in the world
with estimated net worth of U.S $85.6 billion as of February 2017.
Secondly, Nelson Mandela. Mandela was born in 18 July, 1918.
He was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and
philanthropist, who served as president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He
was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully
representative democratic election.
IMPORTANCE OF
POPULARITY:
You will be recognized
and liked by many people, it makes you feel accepted, the more secure you will
feel, the less social mean act will come your way and the more you will fit in.
IMPORTANCE OF RESPECT:
Respect has a longer-
lasting effect, most people do not continue to look up to or even remember
those who were popular in school for many years, rather they continue to
remember those that they respected.
WHAT DO WE REALLY MEAN
BY POPULARITY VERSES RESPECT?
Firstly, the difference
between popularity verse respects is that popularity is about surface
appearance. While, respect is about the admirable quality that lies
within.
Secondly, someone is popular because of what they do. While, someone is
given respect because of who they are.
QUALITIES FOUND IN
SOMEONE THAT IS RESPECTED ARE:
Courage, social –
intelligence, integrity, kindness and self-confidence.
DEMANDS OF POPULARITY:
Popularity requires
pleasing, it can be limiting, it breeds insincerity, it is competitive and it
attracts imitators.
IN CONCLUSION:
In a world dominated by
social media, it’s easy to be tricked that the person with the most likes is
the winner. However, would you prefer to do business with someone just because
they are cool? Um, probably not, you will rather prefer doing business with
someone you respect and that comes down to what our grandparents called “Good
Morals”. The choice is yours now, do you prefer popularity to respect or respect
to popularity.
