Loyalty is defined as a strong feeling of support or allegiance.
Feelings of support to and allegiance for a country, a state, a company, an
institution, a family or even another individual is what we can deduce from
this. There were days not so long ago, when people would lay down their lives
for their country or their kingdom. Now however, loyalty has become a rarity,
so much so that when there are loyal people around us we find it difficult to
believe and treat the poor loyal soul with nothing but suspicion.
This degradation of a very simple and albeit important value may have found its roots in the ‘I am the king/queen of the world’ generation where we all seem to believe, with utmost conviction, that the sun is a figment of our imaginations and all planets including earth actually revolve around us. This whole ‘I am the most important being in the universe’ has many implications in our lives but when it comes to loyalty, throwing our own friend under the speeding bus has become a habit. Today, even watching what you say in the midst of trusted childhood buddies has become a habit. They say ‘once bitten twice shy’; today we are shy even before the bite.
The sad part is that there still are loyal people out there, who are looked at as lepers were in the past. These individuals dedicate their time and so much of themselves to the object of their loyalty, but all it takes is for one person with an agenda to completely take away and breakdown years of toil. We have all, at some point or another, been a victim of another’s reprisal, where for no rhyme or reason you find yourself in the centre of cross fires you never knew existed. There you are, living a happy life, doing everything you can and more to be there and do things. when suddenly, you are thrown into a battlefield with bullets and bombs whizzing past your ear and you have no idea when, why and how you landed there.
It’s sad that we have now come to expect disloyalty as a norm and to treat loyalty with suspicion. Even a compliment from a co-worker is looked at with an upturned eyebrow and a flashing thought of what on earth is he/she after? It’s not just one person or a few people. It is our society as a whole that has been thrown into this inferno of mistrust. We need to bring back the fidelity to our nation and our people. For this we need to bring back fidelity to ourselves. Whatever we lack from within is what we display towards others. Standing up for ourselves and understanding where we have come from is a good place to start. Doing away with our holier than thou attitude and stepping out of the illusion that we are the rock star of every gathering will help bring us back down to the earth we owe so much to.