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I think that there are so many more important things about a person than their title or rank. I don't think it makes sense to assume that a person is respectable because of their title. I suspect that there are plenty of scoundrels who've managed to attain rank.
I will use titles when protocol demands it. Other than that, I couldn't care less. I prefer to relate to people as individuals, not in terms set by some external organization (though I recognize that this dynamic frequently can't be avoided).
I call all my professors by their first names because that's what they seem to prefer. When I went to fighting school my teachers all preferred to be addressed by their first names. I'm glad that USian society seems to be moving away from undue formality.
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