Loyalty Is Overrated
Oh really? You mean cheaters and traitors are better than loyal people? How come?
Let me ‘splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up 
.
What is this loyalty thing anyway? Merriam-Webster teaches us that loyal means:
unswerving in allegiance: as
- a : faithful in allegiance to one’s lawful sovereign or government
- b : faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due
- c : faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product
Faithful in allegiance to the lawful sovereign
Let’s say there’s this king, King 1, ruling over a prosper and happy kingdom. Our friend John Doe 1 is a soldier in this king’s army, loyal to his king. He’s grateful that this king rules so well that his family and all families have bread, cheese, bacon and onion every day, and there’s never a shortage of whiskey in the tavern. The smoke from barbecues often clouds the Sun. Oh. My. God. That’s a happy nation if I ever saw one. Such abundance wouldn’t be possible without the king’s diligent management. John Doe 1 is proud to be in his king’s army, and his loyalty is 100 on a 1 to 10 scale. He’ll happily die right now to save his king’s life.
Now then, this kingdom has its neighbors, which are not so good at administering their resources. They work hard, but they’re poor because of high taxes and King 2’s bad management. They always drool and sigh when the Eastern Wind brings to them the smell of fresh barbecue from Kingdom 1.
King 1 pities the poor neighbors living under the dictatorship of King 2, so he decides to release them, in the name of democracy (in his kingdom, the people chooses the king by vote). He summons his army and makes a grand speech about freedom, democracy, abundance and human rights, therefore lighting the flame of justice in his army’s heart. And to war they ride.
But wait! John Doe 1 feels (as do most of his comrades) that something’s wrong. He doesn’t want to kill the soldiers from Kingdom 2. Why should they pay with their lives for… err… what are they paying for? This is bullshit, he thinks. But he and his peers are bound by loyalty and honor to serve King 1. Should they be loyal, or just drop it? Maybe the king should try some more diplomatic solutions. What are the diplomats getting paid for anyway? But, you see, he must remain loyal. In a disciplined army, a disciplined soldier will obey the order, not discuss or think twice about it. His king has ordered, and so it will be done, for it is the right thing to do. Or is it? Loyalty sounds a bit like cowardice in this particular scenario, doesn’t it?
Faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due
OK, so if that didn’t convince you, here’s another loyalty scenario. John Doe 2 and Jane Doe 2 are very much in love. The romance they live is so perfect, they are so happy, that we are all gathered here to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony. They swear loyalty to each other, for better or worse and all that. As the years go by however, the romance slowly succumbs to convenience. John Doe 3, her fitness instructor, asks her out one day. Shyly she refuses. John Doe 2 also must contain his impulse to ask his secretary if she’d like to be more than his secretary. Loyalty “saves” their marriage, but it takes its toll: their freedom. Their happiness. Bound by loyalty, they refuse new intimate connections which would bring them joy, renewed love and wonderful sensations. After all, why should two people break free and be happy, when they can stay unhappy and be loyal?
Faithful to a cause or ideal
This one is almost too easy . Inquisition is loyal to the church. Doctors advertising meat consumption are loyal to public health (though all recent serious studies show that meat and dairy cause cancer, heart failure and all other diseases). Mafia members are loyal to their cause to “protect” the neighborhood. Death to the infidels: kamikaze bombers are loyal to their faith. It. Is. Obvious: loyalty has no place in this world.
Conclusion
Loyalty often means to hurt and/or get hurt, to kill and/or get killed. There is always another way, but because it requires some courage which people lack, it is dismissed in the name of loyalty. Some will say that loyalty requires courage (see some examples in the paragraph above), but they actually confuse courage with ignorance and/or cowardice. It is therefore safe to say, my friends, that loyalty is highly overrated nowadays; q.e.d.