Everyday Canvas

Misdirected Loyalty

Prompt: Discuss one of the quotes about the Ides of March.
https://www.ibtimes.com/ides-march-12-quotes-about-loyalty-celebrate-march-15-18...

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“Is loyalty still a commendable quality when it is misdirected?” – Cassandra Clare, “Clockwork Princess”

I have to answer no because this quote made me recall of the followers of Adolf Hitler, but I don’t need to take it that far. Misdirected loyalty first begins in the family or the parental home. Children who have been brought up by overly disciplinarian parents tend to develop similar loyalties toward their parents and family members. Surely, not every strictly disciplined child shows such behavior as most stay away from abusive or extremely disciplinarian parents once they mature.

Among other people, misdirected loyalty happens when a person finds it difficult to stand up against someone because doing that might feel like they are betraying their relationship with that person. This type of sick loyalty may happen not only between people but also between persons and institutions, such as political parties, workplaces, or religious affiliations.

Then, sometimes, people are threatened to be loyal to something or someone, and that may be an inescapable situation, but misdirected loyalty happens even without a threat or any such force. This type of loyalty arises from personal feelings having to do with guilt, morality, or social pressure.

In any case, misdirected loyalty is a dangerous thing because it threatens a person’s integrity, self-respect, and sanity. And if left to fester, it can lead to emotional complications of varying degrees such as codependency, snobbery, tyranny, and code of silence as with the Omerta of Mafia. Under these conditions, a person can at best lose his self-confidence and then, other more important things like his health, his financial well-being, and his life.