Weekly Opinion Editorial
BLIND LOYALTY &
PREDICTABLE BEHAVIOR!
by Steve Fair
Blind loyalty involves being
loyal to a person or cause even when they misbehave or do something
dishonest. Those who engage in blind
loyalty believe allegiance is more important than objectivity. They believe keeping a positive image of the
person or cause is more important than the truth. There are dozens of examples
of people who are blindly loyal, but think of a battered woman who protects her
husband when police arrive in answer to a domestic violence call. Think of
people who defend bad behavior by political leaders knowing it is bad
behavior. Loyalty is only an outstanding
virtue if the person or cause is just and good.
Being blindly loyal will
lead a person to practice situational ethics. Situational Ethics is when a
person dumps absolute moral standards to justify bad behavior for the ‘greater
good.’ Those who practice situational
ethics believe the end justifies the means.
It is acceptable to lie, cheat, and steal for the greater good. When people start being blindly loyal and
practicing situational ethics, their behavior becomes very predictable. And political scientists and sellers of
goods and services love predictable people.
Economists rely on predictable
human behavior. Marketers develop products
and then position and price them based on predictable human behavior. They bank on people reacting as they
expect. Politicos bank on people
reacting to an issue in a predictable manner.
According to a recent study by psys.org, human behavior is 93%
predictable across all demographics. The
fact is we aren’t as spontaneous as we like to think.
If you want an example of
predictable human behavior, write about politics on Facebook. The comments will be predictable. Liberals and conservatives- establishment and
non-conformists- will see the post differently and their reactions will be
either to agree with your post or to attack- all not unexpected. There will seldom be a comment that surprises
you. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu said
this about predictable behavior: “Engage people with what they expect; it is
what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them
into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for
the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.”
In
recent years, politics has become a blood sport with the so called
‘establishment’ on one side and the ‘non-establishment’ on the other. Press releases from elected officials and
comments from their supporters are so predictable that you could write them
yourself. They ‘spin’ any event or issue
to fit their worldview. Both sides
backbite and make personal attacks on those who disagree with their view. The intentionally misrepresent the other
faction’s position on issues. Elected officials and citizens should work
toward respecting differing opinions and restore civility to the process. The first step is to recognize that blind
loyalty is wrong, and that we shouldn’t be so predictable.
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