Originally Posted by
clrankin
There's a big, unbridgeable chasm between calling some folks without M.D.s "doctor" and calling police and TSA "officers".
College professors, chiropractors, D.O.s, and others with years of study and deep knowledge in their fields with the degrees and requisite knowledge to support their insights have earned the respect. They are learned, have spent thousands of their own dollars to acquire their expertise, and readily provide tangible benefits to society on a daily basis. They are also members of professional associations (in most cases, at least) with clearly defined and enforced codes of conduct.
Uh, we're doctors because we have doctorate degrees? I don't use my honorific title of Doctor, but I could. Lawyers don't, but they could too. All medical doctors use their title, as well as anyone in education. Other than that, it's somewhat random. If you're in a field with a lot other doctors, everyone tends to use their title just as a measuring stick. I don't, since I don't run into too many other doctorate holders on a regular basis. Plus, I just don't care.
But anyone with any doctoral degree - PhD, MD, DDS, JD, Ed. D, etc - can use the title if they want. There are dozens of different doctoral degrees out there.