First off I would like this decussion to stay withen the framework of the original post.
I'll try... although this is a pretty broad topic, so if I stray, I do apologize.
1) Why is it better said you have to earn respect?
There's a lot of confusion about the difference between respect and courtesy, so this might be a long explanation.
There are plenty of people I respect, who I will always be courteous to - because my respect is so great, because of rank differences (and not just MA rank, but other social ranks as well - age, achievements, position, etc.).
There a plenty of people I respect, who I might not be courteous to, for various reasons - because I'm joking around, because I know them well enough, and respect their opinions enough, to not pussyfoot around an issue even though it's delicate or potentially hurtful, and so on. People who see this type of interaction from the outside and are not aware of my respect for the other person may see this as disrespectful, even when it's not intended to be. These are often the people I respect the most - because I respect them enough to be honest even when it's difficult for me, and potentially painful for one or both of us.
Then there are the people I will always be polite to - showing the outward forms of respect - but will not respect despite the show of courtesy. These are people who have earned the show of courtesy by some accomplishment (rank, in or out of MA, as described above), but who I do not respect as individuals. These people may never know my true opinion of them, because I show rank for their position that I do not feel for their person.
This comes back to my answer to your question: IMHO, it is always better to earn respect through your actions than be shown respect that is not felt because of your position. Courtesy is a learned behavior, which I can turn on and off at will - respect, however, is an emotion, which is dictated by a person's experiences with another person, and cannot be faked if it's really not there - the motions of courtesy can still be shown, but without the emotion of respect, the courtesy is hollow.
2) Respect is a part of life, so why should we not respect each other for the sake of respect?
I understand what you're saying, but I disagree. Respect is a different class of emotion, at least to me, than are some of the more hormonally-driven emotions such as lust and hate. Respect is earned through actions, and can be increased or lost through the actions of the other person - I can respect someone in the abstract, for a rank or position, and can demonstrate the courtesy due that rank or position, without ever feeling the emotion, or even while actively
not respecting the person - but as much as I try, when people are disrespectful to me, it triggers a similar response in me that I can't always control.
The flip side of this is that is you treat others respectfully, others are more likely to respect you. Like trust, respect is a two-way street, and can often only be earned by being given, and also like trust, respect can be lost through betrayal of that respect.
3) In Martial Arts it seems if you are not a top notch fighter or on the Seminar circuit then you are worthles to the Arts and thus you get no respect?
I think it depends on the martial artist. For myself, I respect people who have the physical ability and mental toughness to be successful on the fighting and/or seminar circuits - but I respect anyone who has the perseverance to stick with a difficult skill long enough to improve it - regardless of the skill in question. The people I have met or interacted with who think that only those who are successful on the tournament and/or seminar circuits are worthy of respect are often inexperienced, overawed by fame, or have been convinced by someone else that only people with certain achievements have any value.
4) If you choose to teach childern instead of Adults you have no respect from anybody?
I guess it depends on who you want respect from. Iceman is correct in his statement that, in many cases, college professors automatically receive more respect than elementary school teachers. The same often holds true for other fields in which both children and adults can be students. The reasons for this are, I think, outside the scope of this discussion, but relate in part to the respect many people have for those who teach/train/manage the elite - the smaller, more exclusive the group, the more respect the people in the group, and those who train them, generally earn.
5)When people get older they respect is all gone from them and they are written off as nothing to offer anybody.
This is another cultural problem. The elderly used to be revered for their wisdom, and valued for their skills in child care, which freed the younger adults in a community to complete tasks that required greater physical strength. As young adults began to move farther away from their parents, the value of grandparents and other elders for child care was lost; as society became more and more focused on the value of items than the value of relationships, the cost of caring for elderly parents (especially those who live far away and cannot help with their own care or that of younger generations) who began living longer and longer overrode the respect that younger generations had for older generations. This was, IMHO, exacerbated by the increased lifespan and older age of parents, smaller family, and the greater mobility of society - until a few hundred years ago, the older children in a family would begin having children while their own younger siblings were still at home, creating a multi-generational home in which the grandparents took care of their grandchildren alongside their own youngest children. As the West was opened, and younger generations took off across the country, this intergenerational connection was lost - adding to the loss of respect for the older, and often unreachable (due to lack of technology for communication and transportation) older generation. There are other, related and unrelated factors as well - but I think I've already gone far enough afield on this one.
6) Is it not true that to be respected you must first respect everything else?
Yes and no, I think. As I said before, people can show you the motions of respect without respecting you, and can respect you without showing you the motions of respect. There are people I respect for their accomplishments while not respecting them as people, and people I respect
as people, whose accomplishments (if any) I do not respect... Likewise, there are people whom I respect who do not respect me, and vice versa. If respect were necessary to earn respect, then there are plenty of people who would never earn respect from anyone, because they respect no one and nothing themselves.
For the moment I will focus on one aspect of your question. "Do you think people give less respect to those who teach children?" You bet. In MA or out, it's an issue. When one teaches in a college setting, they get much more respect & called professor. When one teaches 3rd grade, they are merely envied because "they get summers off."
In deference to our friends Kacey & exile. I'm sure they would both agree that that one gets more respect in the community than the other. However, if Kacey doesn't do her job very well, few of her students will see the inside of exile's classroom later in life. (See, that's another example of the respect given to one over the other).
In MA, its the same way. Dawn Barnes is not as respected as a Bill Wallace (who known more for teaching adults).
It shouldn't be that way. But it is.
my 2 cents.
Indeed... although it depends on just what you teach - people who find out that I teach special education in a middle school often respect me - or at least state respect for the level of patience my job must take - simply by hearing what I do. But in general, I think you are correct. As I said above, I think it has to do with how elite/restricted the group you teach is - the more restricted/elite the group, the more the person who teaches/coaches the group becomes, without regard to the people who provided the skills necessary to get into that group in the first place. When was the last time a middle school coach or elementary school gym teacher is given respect for starting a child on the path to becoming an Olympic athlete, or a kindergarden teacher is recognized for teaching a child the basic reading skills that provided the base for all else the child learned on the path to becoming a doctor, lawyer, or other highly educated professional?
