Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): Creo que la justicia y el respeto sincero hacia todas las personas nos ayudan a vivir mejor juntos. - I believe that justice and sincere respect toward all people help us live better together.

You can say creo eso (I believe that / I believe it), but if what follows has its own verb (ayudan), you must join it with que. Omitting que here would be ungrammatical:
✗ Creo la justicia y el respeto nos ayudan…

Why is it creo que … nos ayudan (indicative) and not nos ayuden (subjunctive)?

With creer que in an affirmative sentence (I think / I believe that…), Spanish normally uses the indicative, because the speaker is presenting the idea as something they believe is real:

Creo que … nos ayudan = I think … they help us (I’m inclined to believe this)

You would use the subjunctive when creer is negated or strongly questioned:

No creo que la justicia y el respeto sincero … nos ayuden.
I don’t think justice and sincere respect … help us.

So:

Creo que … → indicative (ayudan)
No creo que … → subjunctive (ayuden)

Why la justicia and el respeto? Could you drop the articles?

Spanish often uses definite articles with abstract ideas or general concepts:

la justicia = justice (as a general value)
el respeto = respect (in general)

You can say justicia y respeto without articles in some contexts (slogans, titles, very telegraphic style), but in a full, normal sentence like this, the articles sound more natural:

Creo que la justicia y el respeto sincero… ✅
Creo que justicia y respeto sincero… sounds bare or slogan‑like.

Why is it el respeto sincero and not la respeto sincera?

Noun gender and article must match. Here:

respeto is a masculine noun → takes el
sincero is a masculine adjective → sincero (not sincera)

So:

el respeto sincero = sincere respect

If the noun were feminine (e.g. la confianza – trust), the pattern would change:

la confianza sincera (article and adjective both feminine)

Why is the adjective placed after the noun: respeto sincero, not sincero respeto?

Default position for most descriptive adjectives in Spanish is after the noun:

respeto sincero = genuine/real respect

You can say sincero respeto, but it’s more literary/formal and often used in fixed expressions (expresar mi sincero respeto). In everyday speech, respeto sincero is more neutral and natural.

So: noun + adjective ( respeto sincero ) is the standard word order.

Why use hacia in respeto sincero hacia todas las personas instead of a?

Both are possible with respeto, but there’s a nuance:

respeto a alguien – very common; direct respect for someone.
respeto hacia alguien – also common; emphasizes an attitude or orientation towards someone (closer to English towards).

In a general, ethical statement like this, hacia sounds especially natural because it highlights our attitude towards all people, not just respect for specific individuals. But:

respeto a todas las personas ✅
respeto hacia todas las personas ✅ (slight “towards” flavor)

Why is it todas las personas and not todo el mundo or just todos?

todas las personas literally: all people / every person
– very clear, inclusive, and a bit formal/universal.
todo el mundo literally: everyone / the whole world
– very common and natural, but slightly more colloquial and less “careful” than todas las personas.
todos could mean everyone, but on its own it’s ambiguous without context; it often refers to “all of us / all of them” already mentioned.

Also note the required article:

todas las personas ✅
✗ todas personas (plural count nouns used generically almost always need an article in Spanish)

Who is the subject of ayudan, and what does nos do?

Subject and verb:

Subject: la justicia y el respeto sincero hacia todas las personas
(two nouns joined by y → plural subject)
Verb: ayudan (3rd person plural, agreeing with the plural subject)

Pronoun:

nos = to us / us (indirect object pronoun here)

So structurally:

(La justicia y el respeto…) nos ayudan a vivir…
= Justice and sincere respect … help us to live…

Because the subject is plural (two things), you must say:

nos ayudan ✅
✗ nos ayuda (singular) – that would clash with the plural subject.

Why is there an a before vivir: nos ayudan a vivir? Could you say nos ayudan vivir?

The standard, most correct pattern is:

ayudar a + infinitive

So:

nos ayudan a vivir = they help us to live

In some varieties of spoken Spanish, people sometimes omit a (me ayudas hacer esto), but in careful or formal language, especially in writing, a is expected.

In this sentence, a vivir is the natural, grammatically standard form.

Why is the word order vivir mejor juntos and not vivir juntos mejor?

Both orders are grammatically possible, but they sound slightly different:

vivir mejor juntos (used in the sentence)
→ focus on vivir mejor (to live better), and juntos specifies how we’re living better: better, together.
vivir juntos mejor
→ puts more weight at the end on mejor; it can sound a bit less natural in this kind of “value statement,” and might be parsed as “live together, better” (slightly different rhythm).

In general, Spanish often places a key adverb like mejor before adjectives/participles such as juntos, so vivir mejor juntos feels smoother and more idiomatic.

Why is juntos masculine plural? Would it change with an all‑female group?

Juntos agrees with the implied subject nosotros (“we”):

Mixed group or all‑male group → nosotros → juntos
All‑female group → nosotras → juntas

So:

Mixed or male group: nos ayudan a vivir mejor juntos.
Only women speaking: nos ayudan a vivir mejor juntas.

In writing, juntos is the default when gender is not specified, much like English usually defaults to “we” without indicating gender.

What’s the difference between hacia todas las personas and hacia la gente?

Both mean towards people, but nuance and register differ:

hacia todas las personas
– more formal, explicit, and inclusive: towards all people / all persons.
– very clear in ethical or philosophical statements.
hacia la gente
– more colloquial and vague: towards people / towards others in general.
– sounds more like everyday conversation.

In a sentence about broad moral principles, hacia todas las personas sounds more careful and universal, which fits the tone of the original sentence.