The Three R’s

When most people hear the three R’s, they think of the ones in the ditty song, “School Days:” Reading, ’Riting, and ’Rithmetic, but I want to comment on three other R’s that are of concern to me and are seemingly being lost in today’s society: Reason, Respect, and Responsibility. Great men of the past have commented on these three ideals, so I will share their words in my post.

There are two others Rights and Religion, but they are God given and should be kept inviolate as did our founding fathers. They listed them as parts of our country’s foundational precepts that were set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights of the United States of America. People, who were much wiser than I, wrote these ideals to form the foundation of our nation.

REASON is the first R I’d like to address. Edward Counsel said, “Reason is a pillar of the mind.” Sophocles wrote, “Reason is God’s greatest gift to man.” The words of God Himself say to mankind, “Let us reason together.” Scientists say that reason separates man from the animals. Reason tempers emotion to make rational decisions.

RESPECT is the second in the trilogy I want to share. Billy Graham said, “A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone.” Respect is shamefully absent in much of society today and Laurence Sterne said, “Respect for ourselves guards our morals, respect for others guides our manners.” What has happened to being polite? H. M. McGill wrote, “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” Shouting down another person’s point of view or feeling offended and needing a safe place if someone doesn’t agree with our point of view is the norm in society today.

The third ideal is RESPONSIBILITY. A right without responsibility is anarchy. “A definition of responsibility: a commitment of head, heart, and hands to fix the problem and never again affix blame,” was described by John G. Mills and Robert L. Joss said, “Real leadership is not about prestige, power, or status. It’s about responsibility.”

I don’t know how many will agree with my view on this subject, but as I have said, many men mush wiser than I share the same perspective on reason, respect, and responsibility.