Loyalty - The Mini-series

Part 1 - General Loyalty. Dictionary.com defines loyalty as follows: loy·al·ty   /ˈlɔɪəlti/ Show Spelled[loi-uhl-tee] Show IPA
–noun,
1. the state or quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments or obligations.
2. faithful adherence to a sovereign, government, leader, cause, etc.
3. an example or instance of faithfulness, adherence, or the like: a man with fierce loyalties.

This includes supporting your favorite ball team even when they are playing your sister's favorite team, GO Tigers!. This makes me loyal to my boys, but not disloyal to my sister. I root for her team every game except when they play mine. We also root for each other's teams rivals to lose. We defend each other in public and only offer feedback in private. She's right, even when she's wrong, if someone is on the attack. The fun part of this is that very early in this story, there were qualifiers to loyalty. Choosing one group over another under certain circumstances. Whether it is family, close friends, or professional contacts we prioritize and manage our loyalties with "logical" justifications for our choices. For the most part, one loyalty never overlaps another, so the priorities aren't tested. Once a conflict arises, we pick where to sacrifice credibility and someone else's loyalty to remain unwaveringly loyal to another. Like so many other words, the general application fits the definition, but personal perception doesn't. When we think loyalty, we see knights dying in battle for the love of their king. We believe that it is more than the circumstantial or consequential product of a commitment or obligation. In Parts 2 and 3 of this mini-series, we will investigate employee loyalty and business loyalty. I welcome your thoughts.