The Axiom Of Respect
Individuals Demonstrate Valid Behavior
By Treating Themselves And Others Respectfully
And Respecting Only Those Who Earn It

As much as I hate to admit, I am a big fan of Lady Gaga. I am not sure why she captures my attention so much: her crazy outfits, outlandish lyrics, or heavy, beat-driven music. Her music is definitely a bit naughty - and I always felt a little naughty listening to it - so I was really pleased to see her comments in "Lady Gaga's Message To Fans: 'Have Safe Sex.'"

Lady Gaga says:

I see [my fans] every night and they are so beautiful and precious and lovely, but some of them are insecure and very troubled and not confident. [. . .] I meet them and they cry, and they say "Gaga you make me feel like I belong."

And I think to myself about that one girl or those hundreds of thousands of girls who meet that guy at a club who makes them feel like they belong and they don't have that negotiation. We all know that having sex with a condom is a negotiation but it is Russian roulette.

I don't live in an era where you can sleep with whoever you want to sleep with. [. . .] You have to really be careful with yourself and get to know people and get tested before you have sex is very important.

This really sent me spinning: Lately, I have been meeting women who do not treat themselves respectfully. They give themselves so easily and cheaply. They do not value themselves or the meaning of giving themselves to someone else. The same applies to men I have been meeting as well. They do not understand that they are degrading themselves every time they engage in meaningless sex.

Treating yourself respectfully means that you treat yourself nicely. This means that you must do your utmost to rid yourself of caustic thoughts, such as "No one will ever love me," or "I am such a loser," and attempt to replace them with a positive inner monologue, such as "I only want to be with another person who respects me." It may seem like a lot of hard work at first, but treating yourself nicely becomes a habit the more you do it.

Rodger McMillan
Magna Sententia Weblog Contributor
Host of The Magna Sententia Podcast