Every Person Deserves Respect




"Father of the Internet" and Google Vice President Vint Cerf has made a living with high-speed technology. When it comes to personal interactions, Cerf believes in showing respect to everyone he meets.



I believe in mystery.
I believe in family.
I believe in being who I am.
I believe in the power of failure.
And I believe normal life is extraordinary.
This I Believe.

I'm Jay Allison for This I Believe, our weekly series of essays about personal conviction. Today our essay comes from Vint Cerf, the quote "Chief Internet Evangelist" at Google. Cerf is often credited as the "Father of the Internet" though he be quick to call it a team effort. In the 1970s, he helped design the earlier architecture allowing computers to share information and networks which led to the World Wide Web. His belief extends to life on the web, but it begins with a lesson learned in person. Here's Vint Cerf with his essay for This I Believe.

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 remembered 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'd 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 taxicab 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 learnt 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'm 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.

Vint Cerf with his essay for This I Believe. When we recorded him in his library in McLean, Virginia, Cerf was about to go on vacation and was not wearing one of the three-piece suits he's known for. Instead, he was dressed all in black, like Paladin, he said, on the old TV show "Have Gun Will Travel". Cerf couldn't remember the actor's name, so he googled it and it's Richard Boone if you are wondering. As ever, we hope you will consider sending in your own statement of belief at our website npr.org/thisibelieve. You can find all the essays in the series along with information about submitting your own. For This I Believe, I'm Jay Allison.

This I believe is independently produced by Jay Allison, Dan Gediman, John Gregory and Viki Merrick with Emily Botein.

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