The Meaning Of

Firstly, a broad example of this idea of loyalty and the multiple definitions that surround it would be how one would define their loyalty to the country they live in. Many have been put in the retrospect that having loyalty to our nation would be following the orders of the President of the United States. One can be loyal to their nation but go against everything the President stands for. Another can be loyal to the President and fight for what is inhumane, such as the Muslim Ban or the idea of Mexicans being considered as rapists. In the article, “Saved by the Stars and Stripes? Images of Protest, Salience of Threat, and Immigration Attitudes”, authors Matthew Wright and Jack Citrin focus on their studies on an experiment on symbolic representations and national identities towards immigration. Wright and Citrin use the idea of finding where loyalty lies when they displayed the American flag or the Mexican flag. Wright and Citrin were expecting “responses to protestors waving American flags as a display of [their] loyalty should be less hostile than responses to protestors waving Mexican flags” (Wright and Citrin, 1). Though their hypothesis came out with a positive correlation, the idea of loyalty towards their flags and the policies of immigration did not lessen or give way to denouncing what they represented. Following that study, the question of what loyalty truly is in a country as divided as we are now pops up more than ever. In a magazine article titled “What Is Loyalty To America”, author Ellen Reiss poses the question of what it truly means to be loyal to America. Reiss states that “the horrible mistake people make about loyalty—whether to a person or a nation—is to make loyalty equivalent to going along with whatever the person, or whatever those running the nation, want us to do” (Reiss, 1). Reiss goes on to explain that to be loyal is to be true to one’s self and whoever it is we are loyal to, which means to have that ability to be able to agree to disagree. Reiss goes on to explain that loyalty can go hand in hand with how we define and interpret what liberty and justice are, which shows that everyone has a different meaning for each word.

Secondly, we can find loyalty to have various definitions when referring to the idea of loyalty towards our own personal relationships. In my own personal relationship, the meaning of loyalty is to be fully dedicated to someone through thick and thin. From other perspectives, their views of what loyalty could be different in their own terms of their personal relationships. Stephen Nixon, an SJSU student in the Communication Studies major and a classmate of mine, considers loyalty to be a misused word. Nixon states that “while the idea of loyalty lies along the lines of honesty and integrity, it’s usage tends to imply blind following (…) If we are truly being loyal to someone, should we be enabling certain faults?” (personal communication, March 21, 2018). The idea of unconditional devotion that Nixon speaks of, however, shows more of the idea in ignoring certain aspects of a person or the relationships one has built with whatever it is they are loyal to. Though I do agree with Nixon on the idea that the assumed definition in today’s society has changed a lot, I also believe that the idea of what loyalty means still lies within what he presumes to be misused. I also believe that when it comes to loyalty in personal relationships, it can mean blind devotion to some people and something completely different to others. Another San Jose State student, Maria Ochoa, states that “the type of loyalty one has towards a friend is different than that of a spouse. However, if we remain loyal to humanity, loyalty may find a brand new meaning” (personal communication, March 21, 2018). Ochoa’s definition on what she sees loyalty to be in society and her own personal relationships shows that not everyone has the same opinion in the idea of loyalty to be driven by ignorance and unconditional devotion, as Nixon believed to be. Though both ideals are not wrong, they show that the meaning of loyalty is versatile and continues to be as the years go on. Nixon’s ideas on what loyalty means derive from his own personal experiences with his family members on their idea of blindly following whoever it is they are loyal to, which he finds himself disagreeing with it. Ochoa, on the other hand, expresses her loyalty to her family and personal relationships to be more free-willing and versatile, stating that their definitions may be different but their roots stay the same.

Lastly, the meaning of loyalty comes first and foremost from our own selves. We as individuals give the meaning to the word by learning what is it we believe shows those actions. In order to give loyalty, we must find what loyalty means to us. In the article, “Explaining Lifelong Loyalty: The Role of Identity Fusion and Self-Shaping Group Events”, authors Martha Newson, Michael Buhrmester, and Harvey Whitehouse explain that the lifelong loyalty one finds committed to in either group events or games derives deep within the social identity on the individual and their intake of where they are within the group. Though the article mainly focuses on the loyalty to group events and lifelong commitments, Newson and the other authors give a brief explanation that in order for those to find that sense of commitment to the group and the lifelong loyalty shown consistently from them is mainly due to the impact of what it is the individual believes loyalty is all about. Those who define loyalty as a loose word find committing to a group event harder than those who have a deep connection to what they believe is the meaning of loyalty to one’s self. I believe that our connection and meaning to the word has a lot to do with the loyalty we give and get back in our lives, but it starts first with the loyalty we have with ourselves. In today’s society, the act on being loyal has been tested time and time again with politics, relationships, entertainment, social media and more that we forget to remind ourselves to find what makes us loyal, to begin with. According to the article, “5 Ways to be Loyal to Yourself”, author Bahia Amarsingh states “thing is…many of us spend so much time being loyal to other people, that we often forget the need to be loyal to ourselves (…) When you’re loyal to yourself, your confidence increases, because there’s no better mood lifter than knowing you’re actively loving yourself” (Amarsingh, 1).

In conclusion, Kendrick Lamar might have a good idea of what loyalty can be defined as in today’s society with the question of where our loyalty lies residing in what was focused on the song. However, the meaning of loyalty extends more than just those he states. The meaning of loyalty can be defined between different people and in different situations, whether it is to our country, our interpersonal relationships, or to ourselves. Our interpretations and definitions create our meaning of the word, but to be loyal to our definition is what truly gives the word its meaning. When you find yourself sitting in your car on a windy Sunday night and singing along to Lamar’s “Loyalty” song, asking the questions about who you are loyal to and “do it start with your woman or your man? Do it end with your family and friends? Or you’re loyal to yourself in advance?” (Lamar, 2017), I hope whatever it is your answer is based on what loyalty means to you in retrospect to all those things. I know my answer to what loyalty means to me will.

References

Amarsingh, B. (2011). 5 Ways to be loyal to yourself. Outlish, 1.

Lamar, K. (2017). Loyalty. On Damn [CD]. Henson, Hollywood: Top Dawg.

Newson, M., Buhrmester, M., & Whitehouse, H. (2016). Explaining lifelong loyalty: The role of identity fusion and self-shaping group events. PloS ONE 11(8).

Nixon, S. (2018, March 21). Personal Interview.

Ochoa, M. (2018, March 21). Personal Interview.

Reiss, E. (2002). What Is Loyalty to America. Aesthetic Realism, 1.

Wright, M., & Citrin, J. (2011). Saved by the stars and stripes? Images of protests, salience of threat, and immigration attitudes. American Politics Research, 39(2), 323-343.