In Aretha Franklin’s song, a woman “wants to be valued for what she deserves. (…) It’s about an encounter at eye level, about equality, about equal opportunities. She alludes to the fact that women in the USA at the time could not claim welfare if they lived with a man. In Franklin’s work, we meet a woman who nevertheless collects welfare and leaves it to her husband. For that, she wants a little respect.” (translated from German)* Originally, in 1965, the song was about a man who, as a money earner, thinks he probably deserves a little respect. Aretha Franklin turns the lyrics around, it gets all the more explosive, becomes an iconic anthem. So much for the catchy tune.

But why is respect so important? Such a perennial topic that comes up again and again? I found an answer to this question at the German Federal Agency for Civic Education:

“Respect means regard or appreciation for a person, opinion or way of life, without necessarily adopting the corresponding view or conception of life. Together with the guiding principles of recognition, acceptance, and tolerance, respect is regarded as the central basis of peaceful and successful coexistence in modern, open democracies. ” (translated from German)**

To be honest, we would define the field a bit more broadly: Respect also means respect for the environment. After all, people and their lifestyles are directly connected to it. That’s one reason why we’ve decided to grow our coffees only organically – or biodynamically – and to pay our coffee farmers according to Fairtrade prices. And we’ve made ‘respect’ one of our main topics here on the blog. We have interviewed people who have earned great respect like the actor Stephan Szasz or Demeter-man Christof Klemmer and asked for their interpretations during the “Coffee with…” – quite exciting and definitely worth reading. Perhaps role models like them will help to bring a little more respect and appreciation back into our social debates. What do you think? Let us know in the comments – we look forward to it.