Friday, April 12, 2013

I pledge allegiance to....

What? Who? Huh?

Tonight I was thinking about loyalties and allegiances... and passion. And I asked myself, "Is a lack of loyalty or allegiance a symptom of a lack of passion?" A lack of enthusiasm toward that which one "thinks" they are aligned?  Okay, maybe its late and I am speaking in code. But here goes.

Let's think of ourselves as little countries. When we form an alliance/allegiance with another country it is because we have common interests with that other country. Because we will like the idea of that other country watching our back side when the troops are storming the beach. Or in war the two countries can pool their resources and not fight the war alone.  They ban together to insure the boundaries are not crossed by those who are not in allegiance. 

For example Britian, Russia, and France formed an allegiance in World War I. Now when Germany invaded France on French soil.  Russia backed them.  The Russian troops came in and tried to help defend France on french soil since they had agreed to be allies. I can only imagine if Russia would have said to France, "Oh, wow this is your beef. You can handle it. We will just hang out over here while you handle that. We may loose some troops in battle. Not gonna interfere." That wouldn't have been cool considering they were allies. And, let's just say Russia did decide not to fight along France would they have, then, been considered a German ally? Either you are in loyal allegiance or you are not. There is no in between.

Needless to say.  You are either an ally or your not, when you look at it in these terms. We all know Switzerland is Neutral.  They have declared that.  So there is no way they can have allegiance/loyalty to anyone but themselves. I am sure being neutral serves us all in some way. We should all stop to consider the allegiances we make.  Some will serve us. Some harm us. In being neutral we will never be able to fully experience that allegiance that could have served us.

In my annoyance of loyalty, allegiance and passion, tonight....after pulling out my two cents and a soap box, I had to also pull out my mirror.  I looked in it  and ask myself "Am I too a human Switzerland?" Is this why the lack of it in others annoys me? Maybe loyalty is just overrated.


Check out these definitions.  Being neutral is the absence of loyalty and allegiance. 




loy·al·ty  (loil-t)
n. pl. loy·al·ties
1. The state or quality of being loyal. See Synonyms at fidelity.
2. A feeling or attitude of devoted attachment and affection. Often used in the plural: My loyalties lie with my family.
 
al•le•giance (əˈli dʒəns)

n.
1. the loyalty of citizens to their government.
2. loyalty or devotion to some person, group, cause, or the like. 
 
 
neu·tral  (ntrl, ny-)
adj.
1. Not aligned with, supporting, or favoring either side in a war, dispute, or contest.
2. Belonging to neither side in a controversy: on neutral ground.
3. Belonging to neither kind; not one thing or the other.
4. Sexless; neuter.
5. Chemistry
a. Of or relating to a solution or compound that is neither acidic nor alkaline.
b. Of or relating to a compound that does not ionize in solution.
6. Physics
a. Of or relating to a particle, an object, or a system that has neither positive nor negative electric charge.
b. Of or relating to a particle, object, or system that has a net electric charge of zero.
7. Of or indicating a color, such as gray, black, or white, that lacks hue; achromatic.
8. Linguistics Pronounced with the tongue in a middle position, neither high nor low, as the a in around.
n.
1.
a. A nation nonaligned with either side in a war.
b. A citizen of such a nation.
2. One who takes no side in a controversy: "I am by disposition one of life's neutrals, a human Switzerland" (John Gregory Dunne).
3. A neutral hue.
4. A position in which a set of gears is disengaged so that power cannot be transmitted.