Touch hearts not feet

Different societies have different ways of paying respect to people, while the Japanese and the Korean bow to each other, Indians touch the feet of their elders as a sign of respect. Every time I am around elders, I am expected to do the same. It might be something very trivial but personally I don’t believe in it and I have my reasons for it.

I agree that the older you become, the more experience you have of life and the universe. However, ageing is a natural inevitable process. It is by no means an indicator of your feats or achievements in life. 
Respect on the other hand comes naturally for people who have some demonstrated their capabilities through their life led so far. A thief could be 60 years old but you won’t respect that person (unless you are an aspiring thief ), hence you won’t touch his feet . Of course, a lot of people are disrupting and innovating at a pretty young age which again raises the question of age being a measure of a person’s respect.

I have seen a lot of people touching the feet of their elders just for the sake of it when they don’t mean it. Somehow, I guess I can’t fake it anymore and I have decided to stop this practice at least at my end. Neither do I like to touch people’s feet and nor do I expect them to do the same. If people consider my not touching their feet as a sign of disrespect or my arrogance, I just have to say their judging criteria are way too shallow. I know a lot of people are going to hate me for penning this down but what is the point of doing something you just don’t believe in.