To the Editor:
Many of us have been uncomfortable at some point because we’ve been unsure how to communicate respect to folks we’ve met, especially in foreign countries. Greetings are symbols. They started somewhere, caught on, and took on forms that nobody bothers to explain. What the symbols “mean” is really defined by the folks who use them, not by the context in which they originated, but some origins are revealing.
In Italy, a very long time ago, folks greeted one another by saying, “I am your slave!” or “I am your servant!” The Italian word for slave is schiavo. In time the greeting was shortened to a word that you have probably used: ciao! (pronounced like chow). Italians use the word for both “hello” and “goodbye.” What a beautiful world it would be if we could all really let go of the demand that others serve us, defer to us, and honor us and, instead, all of us were to declare ourselves the servants of all others. If all were eager to give respect to others rather than demand it, all would receive greater respect than they ever could have achieved by demanding it.
When two heads of state meet and each wants to receive and give an indication of respect, which goes first? If each waits for the other neither will initiate the process. If both want to build a better world and provide an example for those who are watching, then we might expect a contest to see who can first offer such an expression. Only a weakling would fail to go first because of fear that the other might not reciprocate. The risk of being misunderstood is always present in social interactions, but the stronger individual takes the risk in order to accomplish something good.
Jesus entered an upper room with his disciples who had just finished arguing about who was greatest among them. He had responded by showing them a child and urging them to become more like the humble youngster than like those who want to be greater than others. He told them that the “first” shall be “last,” that he valued humility over self-importance. As they entered the upper room it appears that the lesson had eluded them all. The customs of the day called for the washing of feet by the lowest servant in the household of any gracious host. Not one of the disciples made a move to wash the feet of the others in the upper room. That would have been too degrading, too near to admitting that he occupied a lower status than the others. Jesus took a basin of water and washed the feet of all the others. Peter, who was soon to deny him, protested at first. Jesus washed the feet of Judas, who was hours away from betraying Him. When He finished, Jesus said that he had done this to provide an example. He said, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”
I do not understand all the severe criticisms of our president, who bowed when he met the emperor of Japan last week, but I admit that it pleases me that our president made the first move to show respect on the world stage. If the issue is that he stood for all Americans, then maybe that’s better than demanding that all others must defer to us because of our position in the global pecking order. Several unfavorable reports put great emphasis on just how low our president bowed, but Jesus bowed lower and urged us all to bow as low.
Tim Nichols
Keyser, W.Va.
