Just what is "respect"? Etymologically it is to look back, that is, to look again, to take a second look. But that might just indicate astonishment, and that isn't what we mean by respect.
I was thinking back several years to one occasion when I used the word. I had, I said, a lot of respect for a friend's grandparents. What did I mean by that?
In the context, it was very clear. The conversation had touched on the use of automatic lights, the kind that turn on when someone walks past your house. I don't think much of these technological marvels because they typically turn on when nobody wants them and frequently are set to flash in the eyes of innocent passers-by. (For this purpose, I count myself innocent.) My friend pointed out that these grandparents had such a light installed at their house.
I had, I said, a lot of respect for this friend's grandparents. I meant that if I found that these grandparents were acting on an opinion which differed from mine, then I would want to look again at the issue, to reconsider my opinion in light of theirs.
In this particular matter, I was forced to modify my position, but only by a little bit. The grandparents have adjusted their light's sensor so that it wouldn't turn on because of a person walking past on house on the public sidewalk, but only if a person should step off onto the lawn. Besides that, they would go to the front door or window and check every time the light went on.
I was happy enough with myself for not needing to change my opinions drastically -- I still dislike automatic lights the way I most frequently experience them, shining in my eyes as I walk my dog past empty houses.
The point today is not about my self-complacency or the foolishness of my neighbors. The point today is that I stopped and reexamined an opinion. I looked again. And that is what respect is all about.