I was watching a TV show the other night (The Diplomat) and the following statement was made: “Loyalty is, by definition, an abdication of judgment”. The quote was made in respect to politics, pointing to the toxic pressures of political alignment, institutional corruption, and the consequences of blind allegiance.
We can see this in the current political parties in the US. Loyalty is the primary attribute for working with the current administration. Look at all the poor judgments being made by the “loyal” followers of the President.
Do you think the quote can be applied to other aspects of life? Lets look at family. We should be loyal to our family, but what does that mean? Does it mean standing up for a parent or sibling even if they are wrong? What about a spouse? Being loyal to a husband or wife means supporting them in good times and bad, being faithful.
Here are some definitions of loyalty in a relationship I found on a web site called PsychCentral
- Consistent Presence: Showing up for the person regularly, not just when things are easy or convenient.
- Trust and Honesty: Keeping their secrets safe, being transparent, and avoiding talking behind their back.
- Standing by Them: Supporting them through personal struggles, failures, or emotional highs and lows without immediately giving up when things get hard.
- Choosing Action over Words: Demonstrating dedication through reliable behavior rather than just declaring care
We see people that a loyal to a specific sports team, and attend their games even during losing seasons. After years a cheering for a losing team, one could say that fan has poor judgment!
What about being loyal with religion? We can be loyal to God, but what about organized religion? Is loyalty required towards a church, or its leaders? Or does professing loyalty to a church bring us to the problem of abdicating our judgement? There our obvious extreme examples of loyalty like the Peoples Temple in Jamestown or Heavens Gate in San Diego.
With the LDS Church, is loyalty expected? What does it mean in a religious sense to be loyal to the Church? Can you be loyal to the Church without giving up judgment? What happens if your judgment goes counter to what the Church is teaching, are you then disloyal? Is there a line that crosses from loyalty to blind allegiance?
Your thoughts?
