Code Red

“I want the truth!” … “You can’t handle the truth!”. Who can forget these lines from Tom Cruise's Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee and Jack Nicholson's Colonel Nathan R. Jessup in the 1992 movie A Few Good Men ? While the film centers on the court-martial of two US Marines, the moral at issue is loyalty. Those who follow Kantian or deontological ethics would argue that the morality of the activities that bring the movie's drama to life should be judged on whether they are right or wrong according to a set of rules (such as the famous Code Red ). Their utilitarian or consequentialist opponents, on the other hand, would argue that allegiance to a group or code comes in second, with one's acts being judged right or wrong based on their consequences.

Loyalty is a tricky virtue. While it is necessary for a healthy human social existence, it is frequently abused. It's no surprise that philosophers have addressed it with enthusiasm or skepticism, as the University of Notre Dame points out. The former argue that loyalty is a foundational virtue that shapes and sustains a slew of other key virtues. The latter regard loyalty as a threat to liberal morality and independent thought. Let's take a closer look at both points of view.

Relationships that exist just for someone's benefit — money, pleasure, social interaction, or status – have flimsy foundations and continue only as long as their initial goal remains, according to Piero Ferrucci's book The Power Of Kindness . Others live a long and healthy existence because the people who started them were not concerned with short-term gains. What matters most in relationships is not extracting a tangible profit from another, but the unusually pleasant feeling that comes from offering someone presence, support, and friendship over time, despite the hurdles and even against one's own interests. This ability to persevere in the face of adversity and discomfort is called loyalty.

But, of course, loyalty extends beyond the bonds we may have with family, friends, and others. In his book Loyalty , Geroge P. Fletcher claims that there are two more loyalty dimensions in addition to the first, which he refers to as "Loyalty of Love." The second is "Group Loyalty" and includes organizations, professions, nations, and governments. The fundamental concept is membership in a group that competes against other groups. This association makes one an insider and gives identity within a network of relationships with the organization's members and leadership. And third, "Loyalty to gods and God," in which the believer's faith is constantly tested and hence prone to reaffirmation.

According to Fletcher, the interaction of these three dimensions of loyalty suggests that when faced with tough life choices, we often act against some loyalties in order to advance others. And we follow a precise hierarchy: God is at the top, followed by groups, and eventually individuals. In most circumstances, higher-plane loyalties trump lower-plane loyalties. This means that higher, abstract values such as God and country appear to have a bigger moral hold on us than our more direct bonds to family and friends.

And it's at this point that things start to get complicated. Those who wish to profit from our loyalty may ask us to put our good judgment aside, to be complacent or subservient, and to suspend our moral judgment. In a love relationship or group action, the loyal individual defers to the judgment of the other, the person or group with whom one is tied in a loyalty relationship. According to a Forbes article by Rob Asghar, loyalty may become a destructive force since it easily fights with true values like honesty and fairness, all while believing itself to be superior to those characteristics.

The task thus is to move away from the concept of loyalty to individuals or groups and toward the concept of loyalty to values such as integrity, truthfulness, and justice. But how do we go about doing it? Professor Josiah Royce of Harvard University points out in his book The Philosophy of Loyalty that people can be instructed to live loyal lives if they meet three criteria. First, loyalty is kept alive by the influence of personal leaders that reinforce the desired virtues. Who do we have in our lives who actively supports and encourages us to stay true to our basic, foundational values? "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with," author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously said. As a result, we should begin to pay attention to what those essential personalities bring to our lives.

Second, the maximum condition for loyalty is an element of devotion toward an idealized cause. Idealization occurs when we create positive illusions by boosting virtues and diminishing defects, according to Psychology Today . The benefits of this procedure frequently outweigh the costs as long as the idealization is done to a reasonably sustainable degree. It's important to keep in mind who or what we put on a pedestal. Again, the goal is to idealize moral values like compassion, gratitude, empathy, generosity, and humility rather than individuals. The former are fundamental to our identity, guiding principles of our behavior, and the bedrock of our ability to distinguish between right and wrong. The latter, on the other hand, are beyond our control and may stray from a shared set of beliefs at any time.

And third, loyalty is perfected in particular via effort and sacrifice in the service of virtues or values. When we show our commitment to our cause in the face of adversity, we demonstrate how much we care and what we are capable of. Let me share a few examples. When our brains are saturated with a cocktail of dopamine, oxytocin, and pheromones in the early phases of a romantic relationship, it's easy to be faithful. Also, there's little doubt that when we have money in our pockets, we are happy to help others. And, of course, if life has gone our way, our belief in a higher power will be strong. But if we remain faithful to our partners when routine has settled in, we keep giving when we don't have enough, and we show hope when life throws us curveballs, that's when we are seen for who we are. And it is at this point that our loyalty becomes ingrained in our character.

“What did we do wrong? We did nothing wrong!”, asked one of the Marines on trial. “Yeah we did. We were supposed to fight for people who couldn't fight for themselves”, said his fellow soldier. Loyalty can be tangled up by preconceived assumptions, groupthink, and other people's agendas. At the end of the day, we all know what is right and what is not. Let’s remember to vow loyalty to our values only.

Author: Esteban Polidura, CFA. December 18, 2021.