LOYALTY

WHAT IS LOYALTY?

All of us can convey a simplistic definition, such as Allegiance, Support, Devotion, and Faithfulness. The Cambridge Dictionary explains 'Loyalty' as the “feeling of support or duty towards someone or something”. The key word here being 'FEELING', implying that loyalty is inherently AN EMOTIONAL ATTRIBUTE.

IS  LOYALTY A VIRTUE?
According to Josiah Royce (An American Philosopher, 1855-1916), loyalty IS a virtue, indeed a PRIMARY virtue, "THE HEART of ALL the virtues, the central duty amongst all the duties". In his 1908 book The Philosophy of Loyalty, Royce presents loyalty, which he defines at length, as the basic moral principle from which ALL OTHER principles can be derived…..WOW!!!!!

The following quotes reflect the remarkable essence of Loyalty:

A friend is someone who walks into a room when everyone else is WALKING OUT. —Gary W. Moore, author

A true friend NEVER gets in your way unless you happen to be GOING DOWN. —Arnold H. Glasgow, businessman

I would rather walk with a friend IN THE DARK, than alone in the light. —Helen Keller, author, disability rights advocate, and lecturer.

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but THE SILENCE of our friends. —Martin Luther King, Jr., reverend, orator, and Civil Rights leader

Those who don’t know the value of loyalty can never appreciate THE COST of betrayal. —Anonymous

There’s nothing like a really loyal, dependable, good friend. NOTHING!!! —Jennifer Aniston, actress

Where THE BATTLE RAGES, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved. —Martin Luther, theologist and monk

Your truest friends are the ones who will stand by you in your darkest moments—because they’re willing to brave THE SHADOWS with you—and in your greatest moments—because they’re not afraid to let you shine. —Nicole Yatsonsky, actress and writer

NOTHING is more NOBLE, nothing more venerable, than loyalty. —Cicero, Roman philosopher

The scholar does not consider gold and jade to be precious treasures, BUT LOYALTY and good faith. —Confucius

Loyalty…When I think of it, I wonder if I would rather have it THAN LOVE! Whereas love is often an over-used word and an unpredictable feeling, the other is nothing but DEPENDABILITY. —Donna Lynn Hope, author

Loyalty is what MAKES US TRUST, Trust is what makes us STAY, Staying is what makes us LOVE, and love is what gives us HOPE. —Glenn van Dekken, professor

It is better to be faithful than FAMOUS. —Theodore Roosevelt, former U.S. president

P.S. We have all heard the phrase, “Jesus had his Judas & Ceasar had his Brutus.”  If you have lived long enough, you have unfortunately felt the stinging wounds that CONTINUALLY THROB from the betrayal of a SO-CALLED FRIEND.  Afterwards, it gives us a renewed appreciation of what it TRULY MEANS to be LOYAL. When you’re in THE TRENCHES, is there anyone you can count on that will say, “I GOT YOU…Got your back, Dog…I got your six, ALWAYS!”..............? 

B.P.S. Yeah, there’s noth’n like Loyalty. It’s few and very far between, man. Well, then…. Here’s to a cherished, often sought after, but RARELY FOUND attribute called LOYALTY... from the Lookout Post