Aretha Franklin sang about it ... and earned the respect of all as one of the greatest soul singers of our time. Yet it is the one of the main things lacking in this federal election campaign - other than policies.
This is displayed almost daily along the campaign trail by groups who believe that their noisy disagreement to a political stance has more validity than any announcement by our political leaders.
To make it worse, they believe vindictive personal attacks constitute legitimate political debate. It doesn't, and never will.
Take the visit to the Alice Springs by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday. A small group of shrill protestors attempted to drown out his announcement of $300 million in funding for the NT's energy industry.
Their behaviour was appalling. The protestors attempted to gain entry to the event via the press pack before trying to jostle their way past local council officers and the PM's staff
They were opposed to gas fracking, although their message - outside of their lack of respect for Morrison - was lost amid their own din.
Freedom of speech is vital in a democratic society - and so too is respect for office and the people who hold that office - but denigration has replaced discourse and it cannot be allowed to continue.
