In
the words of renowned writer and thinker, Napoleon Hill, "Lack of loyalty
is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life." Loyalty, the
noble and idealistic quality we wish existed in all of us through the
thick-and-thinks of life, comes in many forms: we are faithful to our loved
ones, to the greater institution to which we belong, and perhaps we may also
commit ourselves to our hearts. However, there is a danger to excessive loyalty
like all things in life. Misused loyalty can harm and wreck havoc if not kept
in check.
During the years of the World War I
(1914~1918), millions of innocent people were murdered by Adolf Hitler, the
leader of the Nazi party. Although an estimated number of 11 million people
were killed in the horror known as the Holocaust, Hitler did not personally
kill many himself. He authorized the mass extermination of Jew and other
minorities. The Nazi soldier, without taking their own opinion into
consideration, blinded themselves with loyalty and killed countless innocent
lives. Loyalty is sometimes misused in such ways and causes millions of deaths.
However, loyalty is also abandoned in other cases.
There was a terrible story on the
news about a murder of a young girl, allegedly by two brothers, who have since
been arrested. Ironically, it was their mother who realized their treacherous
involvement and turned her own sons in. This tragic story illustrates a perfect
example for how family loyalty sometimes must be abandoned for the justice. If
the mother had not turned her own sons in due to her sense of obligation to
protect them from suffering, the boys would not have realized the grave crime
they had committed against humankind by killing their own sister. Despite all
the reasons to protect her son from shame, guilt, and more, the mother chose to
love them by challenging loyalty.
Loyalty without ethics is futile.
Loyalty must always be paired with what we feel and think is right. Loyalty is
indeed one of the most important characteristics we must all have which brings
many benefits along with it. Nevertheless, it also causes millions of lives and
injuries if misused. Loyalty must be questioned and challenged, as did the
mother who turned in her own sons for the murder of her daughter. Blind
commitment to what we perceive to be correct causes more suffering and halts
progress and development in all aspects of life.
Link
to the news article about the two brothers killing their own sister.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/girl-allegedly-killed-by-brothers-for-marrying-against-family-approval-246970
You gave two very specific examples that does show how loyalty effects our decisions we make. I agree with your point that loyalty must be combined with your own ethics. Without your own judgement, blindly following someone, you would be easily manipulated by others. Is this still called 'loyalty' when you are just taken advantage of? Yes, you can say it is still a form of loyalty, but it is definitely not good, and can eventually lead to something you will regret.
ReplyDeleteI did not exactly understand your wording and meaning when you said "the mother chose to love them by CHALLENGING loyalty". Did you mean to say the mother loved them, and felt OBLIGATED to show her sons what they did wrong? This means the obligation she feels, is her 'loyalty' to them. I think you need to reread and check the context of what you wrote, and what you want to tell us.
Use a quote for the hook is an excellent idea. Those two examples are different, but both of them showed your understanding of loyalty. However, I am not getting the meaning of loyalty in the second examples. If it's possible, can you make it more specific? In addition, I think you should add some more details about your perspectives. In my opinion, I would say that loyalty is what people themselves believe is right. Even though it's not the way others think. Thank you for sharing the link to the news.
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