What are the causes we choose to stay loyal to... and why? And why do we pick them, in the first place?
The thing that often puzzles me is the way people seem to get behind something and then become blindly loyal to their cause without even once pausing to revisit the reasons why they get involved, in the first place.
So often, it seems like people end up just blindly following and supporting causes and ideals that might have represented their mindset perfectly when they were in their 20s but actually works to their detriment in their 50s. And yet? Never a question is asked...
From where I'm sitting, it almost feels cultish, sometimes.
I suppose it speaks to how little we question decisions after they've been made, forgetting that life is perpetually changing, just like we tend to change over time.
I expect some of it has to do with the lessons about loyalty that we are taught by greater society. You're supposed to choose something and stick with it! And if you don't stick with it there is a not-so-subtle judgment that you're wishy-washy and not true to your word.
Don't get me wrong, I know it can be very difficult to declare openly that "this isn't working for me anymore." Sometimes I can't help but think that the single most difficult thing for any human being to say is "well, it looks like I was wrong."
No place does that seem to apply more strongly than in the arena of politics. One of the most difficult things for people to admit is that the candidate they voted for turned out to not serve their needs at all. And that's when we end up with these weird upside down situations in which people continue to support the politician even if supporting that politician means that they are supporting something that is detrimental to their own well-being.
Perhaps the effect is a little more pronounced in the USA where there are only two political parties so you have a lot of "either-or" situations. There's no option to choose an adjacent political party or candidate that sort of looks like the original candidate but where you can quietly say that this person more closely represents what you stand for. Instead, you have to back away completely and either abstain or perhaps put your weight behind somebody who is completely the opposite of where you were before.
It's likely how we end up with a good bit of the extremism we see in the US these days.
I guess it would behoove us all to "check ourselves from time to time.
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful remainder of your week!
Comments, feedback and other engagement is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!
Greetings bloggers and social content creators! This article was created via PeakD, a blogging application that's part of the Hive Social Content Experience. If you're a blogger, writer, poet, artist, vlogger, musician or other creative content wizard, come join us! Hive is a little "different" because it's not run by a "company;" it operates via the consensus of its users and your content can't be banned, censored, taken down or demonetized. And that COUNTS for something, in these uncertain times! So if you're ready for the next generation of social content where YOU retain ownership and control, come by and learn about Hive and make an account!
As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — not posted anywhere else.
2026.08.12 01:49 PDT
1617/2885
0 comments