Loyalty

Humans are very loyal creatures. That's quite a statement for me to make, especially considering that I consider most of us to be incredibly fickle. Stay with me, however, and maybe you'll see things as I do.

I was reading a newspaper today about how my university had to undergo 10.3 million dollars in cuts due to funding issues. My initial reaction was to blame the Republicans for this shortcoming that will cause 39 people to lose their jobs. In immediate hindsight, I became ashamed of this reaction for two reasons. The first was that I've been trying for a very long time to separate myself from my Democratic upbringing and become fully independent in my thinking. The second was that the Governor - who made the cuts - is a Democrat. Whoops.

I kept reading, and to my further dismay I now found myself sympathysing with the decision to make the cuts. After all, $10 million isn't really so much for such a large university.... and considering they employ thousands if not tens of thousands of people to keep it running, 39 isn't that much. I'd completely changed how I felt about the situation based solely on a party loyalty that I thought I had eliminated! So much for being independent.

This, of course, got me to thinking. We, as humans are very loyal creatures. To our opinions, to our lifestyles, to institutions, etc. We'll go as far as to stay loyal even when it's not in our best interests. We resist change (even if we say we embrace it), this is a fundamental part of the human psyche. If I haven't convinced you yet, let me introduce you to a little concept known as brand loyalty.

Quick! Coke or Pepsi?! McDonnalds or Burger King!? Nike or Adidas!? Dominoes, Pappa John's or Pizza hut!? Convinced yet? What have these brands ever done to win your loyalty? Are their competitors really so bad that you'll choose your 'preference' all but always?

Of course, it's not limited to the corporate world. We tend to have other, more fundamental, loyalties that tend to define who we are if we let them. I'm sure sometime in your life you have come into contact with both of our friends on the religious battlefield. On one side, we have the man who believes in a book because it tells him to. On the other, we have the man who claims to have an open mind, denounces the other man for his closed mindedness, and refuses to even consider the views of the other. Neither will ever change unless something deeply personal forces the change upon them.

So what does this mean for you, the reader? Well, to tell the truth, I'm not sure. However, I think I see this as a kind of problem. Either though, I can propose no solution to you, me, or the world... Identifying the problem is still progress.