Loyalty in Politics: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

It goes without saying that many choices that politicians make are made solely for the benefit of the mass media. Decisions that lead to dark paths, paths that are not properly lit by flashing cameras are eschewed for the ones that can assure massive media coverage. Why is that?

The public will always have a vested interest in the actions of people in power, regardless of the size of their jurisdiction. From the president of a department to that of a national association to that of a country; as long as an individual is the highest authority within a group, the general public would have an interest in the decisions being made on their behalf while that individual is in office.

Politics, many say, is a dirty game. The actions of several politicians have been perceived as underhanded. Forging alliances and breaking others. Some also see the sway, the hold that some politicians command over the masses. Unfortunately,  that loyalty is often a double-edged sword. That loyalty can reach a level where critical thinking and accountability are affected. This is why some individuals make morally questionable decisions, or they outright break laws believing they are right and doing their best to provide support.

Loyalty in politics takes many forms. What exactly does loyalty mean in the world of politics? Where new deals are being brokered every day and just as quickly alliances are severed. Blind love and faith in a political figure, an ideology, or a policy can be enough to destroy a friendship and, in some occasions, families.

Often loyalty is shown in commitment to a particular leader or of an ideology. It can also be manifested by defending its members, sometimes irrationally. Loyalty to an ideology is often very subjective.

In perceived loyalty, in a bid to defend their idol, individuals are willing to take life and destroy property, sometimes even willing to lose their own. They do not take care of relationships that took years to forge as they are willing to sacrifice them on the altar of academics.

This, if not anything else, is a recipe for disaster. When an individual’s objectivity has been compromised, he can no longer be trusted to reason carefully. He no longer holds himself accountable for any action, quite often resorting to blaming those who stand at the other end of the political divide.

Now, that individual is not just one person. Not ten, not a thousand. Unfortunately, these loyalists make up a large number of the general populace today.