Every Person Deserves Respect
Once, I was being driven by limo to a hotel in Palm Springs to give a speech. The driver appeared to be in his 60s, and I remember thinking, "How sad that he has to keep working at this menial job." It turned out, though, that he was the retired CFO of a major Chicago-based corporation who had gotten bored with golf. He took a part-time job driving the hotel's limo, so he could meet people and stay in touch with the world. He even ended up giving some good advice to me, a financially naive engineer.
I believe that every person deserves respect, and that I can learn something new from everyone.
Now, I make a point of asking people about their stories. From taxi cab drivers to cleaning crews, each person gives me a chance to vicariously visit a place or do a thing that I might never experience on my own. I've found most people are patient with me if I show an interest and respect for what they have to say.
Respect doesn't mean we have to agree, but we should disagree in a civil fashion. My work is in high-speed electronic communication, where miscues are common and can lead to serious disputes rooted in misunderstanding and distrust.
Even though it's impossible to assure civility in all situations, I can't recall a time when I have been proud of an online conversation that ended in an email nasty-gram. After the heat of the exchange wears off, I feel awkward, embarrassed that I allowed myself to be offensive.
Some people think the Internet isolates and dehumanizes us. I don't agree. The Net is simply a vehicle for people to communicate. When an online discussion becomes testy, many of us have learned to move the discussion to face-to-face or at least the telephone so that better social cues can moderate an increasingly angry exchange. Reading words often invites the worst possible interpretation. Understanding this is key to the world of the Web.
Whether it's on the web or in person, when I meet new people, if I am open, curious and civil, I can learn new things. I believe it's imperative — even selfish, you might say — to treat every person with respect.
     有一次，我乘坐豪华轿车去棕榈泉酒店发表一个演讲，开车的司机看上去60岁左右，我记得我当时这么想的：“他不得不从事这样的一个不体面的工作，多悲哀啊。” 但是，原来他是一家驻芝加哥大公司的CFO，退休以后厌烦了打高尔夫球，找了一份兼职工作——开酒店的轿车，这样他能够与人们会面，保持跟社会的接触。甚至在最后他还给了我这个财务空白的工程师一些好的建议。
我相信每个人都值得尊重，我能够从每个人身上学到一些东西。
现在，我着重于询问人们各自的故事，从计程车司机到清洁工，每个人都给我一个机会带我去参观一个我可能永远不去的地方，或者做一件我自己永远不可能经历的事情。我发现如果我表现出我的兴趣和对他们谈话的尊重，大多数的人都对我很有耐心。
尊重并不代表我们要认同，但是些许的不赞同要用礼貌的方式表达。我所在的行业是高速电子通信，工作中失误经常出现，误会或者不信任会引发激烈的争吵。
当然不可能保证所有的情况都很礼貌，我记不起我为恶言相加的邮件结束的在线会谈感到自豪的时间了。在热度冷却下来以后，我为我自己的讨厌无礼感到羞愧难当。
有些人认为是网络孤立了我们，让我们失去人性，我不同意。网络只是人们交流的一个工具，当网络在线讨论变得很暴躁的时候，我们中的大多数会选择面对面或者至少用电话交流，以便于社交手段能更好缓和一下渐涨的怒气。阅读文字常常引起理解意思的歧义，而理解是网络世界的关键。
无论是在网上还是在生活中，当我遇到陌生人，如果我保持坦率，好奇和礼貌，我总能学到新东西。
我信奉这个原则（也许你会说是自私）——尊重每一个人。