Respect. Rodney Dangerfield lamented that he couldn’t get it. Aretha Franklin pleaded for just a little bit of it. It’s universal. We all want it. We all know the pain and humiliation of its absence and the satisfaction of getting it. While respect is a cloth woven of many colors, there is a common binding thread: We all yearn to be listened to and valued by the folks from whom respect is due: family, friends, and the people who have the power to influence our lives, such as our bosses and government officials. For too many of us, there's not enough of the respect we crave and feel we deserve. That dearth of respect drives American politics.