I just read a very relevant and salient article entitled “Be a Dignitarian” by Robert Fuller and Pamela Gerloff, published in the winter 2008 edition of UU World. Herein, it states that Dignity is a primal need that everyone wants, craves, and seeks. People’s whole lives change when they are treated with dignity – and when they are not. All of us want to be treated with dignity. Fundamentally it is about respect and value. Yet routinely, we fail to accord dignity to those we perceive to be weaker (the oppressed) than us (the oppressor). Naming the problem of indignity is to identify it and make it visible and actionable. A good term for the source of if dignity violation is rankism.
Rankism is the abuse of power attached to rank. It is when those of a higher rank, i.e, those with power over another, threaten those of a lower rank in ways that violate their dignity. Rankism can be considered an umbrella term that encompasses many other “isms” that sets one group or individual apart from another and claims superiority. If we are ever to free ourselves from retaliatory rankist behavior, we will need to disallow rankism and instead create cultures of dignity. To create a dignitarian world, not only must rankism must be counteracted when it occurs, there needs to be an initiation of new processes, procedures, and training. Dignity for all is a stepping stone to realizing the democratic promise of liberty and justice.
