Ruminations on loyalty

Aweh, My Dearly Beloved Fellow Ruminants & Groupies

What is loyalty? Is it important? What am I loyal to? What are you loyal to?

Loyalty: A Working Definition

Let’s define it as a deep sense of allegiance or faithfulness to someone or something, like a person, group, cause, or belief. It usually involves support, trust, and a willingness to stand by that person, group or idea even when things get tough. Think of it as a long-term emotional and ethical commitment, not just a fair-weather friendship.

The Darker Twin: Faux Loyalty

Now let’s consider its darker cousin, faux loyalty. This is the slick, smiling impostor of true loyalty. Outwardly obedient, but inwardly opportunistic. It mimics devotion when it’s convenient or profitable, often fuelled by fear, manipulation, or self-interest rather than genuine respect or shared values. It’s loyalty with a knife behind the back and a grin on the face.

Elon Musk’s feigned loyalty to Trump was the ultimate in faux devotion. His loyalty to Trump went from “First Buddy” to full-blown feud faster than a SpaceX rocket explosion.

The Trouble With Me

I’m one of those very unfortunate people who does not lie well or feign loyalty convincingly. So, I no longer bother to try.

Green Hydrogen and a Little Dissent

Recently, I was invited to the invitation-only grand green hydrogen symposium in Cape Town, complete with canapes and baristas. Cyril, together with his large entourage of bodyguards, arrived to make a waffling opening address and announcement of more funding. As he made his grand entrance, the fawning MC commanded us to “stand for the president”. Well, in a moment of civil disobedience, I decided that I don’t get commanded to stand up for anyone. I don’t do that. Nobody seemed to notice or care. Perhaps I won’t get another invitation?

There was someone who stood up with a placard saying, “Remember Marikana”. They got escorted out by the bodyguards.

Is Loyalty Always a Virtue?

But let’s come back to the question: is loyalty important? Can it ever be unconditional, or is it always earned?

My unconditional loyalty is pretty limited. I’m very loyal to my parents, my wife, and my two sons (now young men). I try to be loyal to a handful of close friends. Beyond that? My wider family and relatives? That depends.

To what extent is loyalty transactional based on reciprocation, shared values, and respect?

Loyalty to Organizations, Institutions, and Countries

Some people profess unconditional loyalty to a company or organization. But what is a company, really, other than a group of people where leadership sets the tone and drives the culture?

Yes, they can earn your loyalty. But what happens when leadership loses its way and still demands it? Therein lies the rub.

Some people’s loyalty supersedes whatever the organization becomes. These are the lambs led to the slaughter. Then some excel at faux loyalty and do it better than Elon Musk, think Uriah Heep. And what about those poor suckers who don’t do faux loyalty in an organization that’s gone off the rails?

Worse still: what happens when a country loses its way?

Loyalty to Beliefs: A Dangerous Thing

Now, what about loyalty to a belief? This could be religion, or belief in socialism, capitalism, or any other “-ism.”

I can’t do that either. Why? Because understanding is always limited. There are always factors you haven’t considered or facts you’re unaware of. What do you do when you’re confronted with arguments or evidence that contradict your beliefs?

Loyalty to a belief can mean closing your mind and that stunts your ability to learn. If you’re loyal to a belief, you risk sacrificing critical thinking on the altar of belief.

If I’m loyal to anything, it’s critical thinking and irreverence.

The Double Act: Critical Thinking & Irreverence

Critical thinking means not accepting things at face value, especially claims from those in power.

Irreverence adds a touch of rebellion, mocking the blind reverence that uncritical minds give to leaders, institutions, or traditions.

A critical thinker asks, “Is that true?” An irreverent mind asks, “Why do we even believe that bullshit in the first place?”

Irreverence strips away the intimidation of authority, making it easier to question what we’re told to accept without thinking

The Risk of Being Difficult

In a culture that shuns critical thinking and irreverence, you’re seen as difficult, disrespectful, even disloyal. And if loyalty is held as a virtue, then disloyalty becomes a damning moral judgment.

But Wait, Is Loyalty a Superpower?

But hang on, I hear you say, isn’t loyalty the cornerstone of every great team? Isn’t the extraordinary success of the South African rugby team built on the team spirit and loyalty that Rassie Erasmus fosters?

Isn’t loyalty what powers every great collective achievement?

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother.”

So, yes. In the right context, loyalty is a superpower.

Loyalty can be a good thing, but only when it’s real and earned. Faux loyalty is just pretending to care so you can fit in or get ahead. If you never question things or stand up for what’s right, that’s not loyalty, it’s just following blindly. Me? I’d rather stay loyal to thinking for myself and calling out bullshit when I see it.

So, dearly beloved ruminants and groupies, my loyal followers, your loyalty is, of course, expected.

Thanks for all the comments and input.

Bruce